This Man is Carrying the American Flag Across Texas for an Amazing Cause

When Reydavid Ochoa started walking across West Texas carrying an American flag, he only hoped to enlighten a few people on the cause he is walking for. However, his efforts have caught the attention of Texans everywhere.

As CBS 7 reports, there are “roughly 7.7 million Americans ages 18 and older living with post-traumatic stress order and every day approximately 22 veterans take their own lives.” Reydavid Ochoa is walking across West Texas, American flag in hand, to bring awareness to PTSD and those traumatic numbers.

In Pecos, the 22-year-old was tracked down an interview where he described his efforts as two-fold: to raise awareness for PTSD, and to “show those living with the disorder that there’s always light at the end of a dark tunnel.”

He’s walking the nearly 100 miles between Monahans, Texas and Balmorhea State Park to prove that it is possible to keep going, even when it seems inconceivable. The natural spring-fed pool is his goal in the State Park, and from there, he plans to hitch a ride home, but he promises to walk if he must.

He told CBS 7, “Right when I got into Pecos my feet were hurting bag because it was a long [walk], I ended up folding up the flag and using it as a cane, the flag is a strong man, and there’s people protecting it. No matter what you do, you gotta keep fighting.”

Ochoa has embarked on an incredible task and his efforts are not without notice. Keep walking, Ochoa, and keep raising awareness for this terrible, unspoken disease that torments so many of our nation’s greatest protectors.