UNLV student veterans to walk 60 miles for annual Operation Battle Born
LAS VEGAS — In honor of their brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate sacrifice, veterans at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) will be walking 60 miles for the annual Operation Battle Born this weekend.
Operation Battle Born is an annual march where UNLV student veterans and volunteers walk across the state carrying military-style backpacks filled with weights and tags in remembrance of their fallen comrades.
“When we carry those book sacks, you get a very small sense of the burden their families have to carry,” said Phellep Snow, a student veteran at UNLV.
This year, teams of student veterans and volunteers will walk 60 miles from Amargosa Valley to Las Vegas while carrying the weighted backpacks.
"They will do ten-mile tracks with 20 to 25 pounds of rocks inside to honor the fallen from the global war on terrorism including the 58 fallen native Nevadans, we actually have the tags with their names and information on," Enrique Necahual Moreno, a student veteran said.
The veterans and volunteers will begin the march Saturday at 6 in the morning at Amargosa Valley.
The groups are expected to arrive in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon.
“It’s something that should be celebrated and honored any chance we get because that is the greatest sacrifice a person can make for their country is their life,” Kesha Westbrooks, a student veteran said.
