by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Chris Ring is swim, swim, swimming his way all the way down the Mississippi River, and he’ll keep swimming past Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud until he arrives at the end of his long journey – the Gulf of Mexico.
As of press time Wednesday, July 8, Ring was swimming south of Brainerd, toward the St. Cloud area.
Ring is doing his record-breaking marathon swim to meet Gold Star families along the way and to bring awareness both to the soldiers who died overseas and to the needs of their survivors back home – the Gold Star families.
A U.S. Navy combat veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ring is a member of Legacies Alive, which is sponsoring the swimming effort, which is called “2015 Legacy Challenge: Swim For Their Sacrifice.”
The mission of Legacies Alive is “to strengthen and support every family of the fallen and bring national awareness to the life and character of each service member who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, as well as to provide unwavering support to families of the fallen by ensuring the legacies of our fallen heroes are forever alive.”
The first “awareness” project of Legacies Alive was done by a veteran named Mike Viti, who walked 4,400 miles throughout the United States to honor the 6,843 Americans killed since the war against terror began. All along his walk, he met with Gold Star families, something Ring is also doing at his riverbank stops. The families are notified ahead of time concerning Ring’s schedule of stops.
Ring was born and raised in Tennessee and now lives with his wife, Becka, in San Diego. After practicing for months and doing research about the Mighty River, he began his long swim June 6 (the 71st anniversary of D-Day) at Lake Itasca and hopes to reach the Gulf on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Ring swims about 16 miles each day. His biggest challenges, he said, will be boats, ship traffic, wildlife and perhaps (but hopefully not) a bout or two of illness.
The Newsleader hopes to do an update on Ring’s long swim – and perhaps an interview with him and photos – when he reaches the St. Cloud area.
For more about Legacies Alive, see its website at www.legaciesalive.com.
Naval combat veteran Chris Ring smiles with confidence as well-wishers watch from the very start of the Mississippi headwaters at Lake Itasca. Ring intends to swim the entire length of the Mississippi River to raise awareness for Gold Star families, the survivors of veterans killed in wars. The program is under the aegis of the Legacies Alive organization. Ring began his swim in early June.
