Purple Heart Run to Gift Wounded Vet a New Raptor

Incredible truck run spans 8,500 miles over a six-week journey that is set to end on Aug. 13.

The brave individuals that put their lives on the line to ensure that those living in the U.S. remain safe usually go unrecognized. But the Purple Heart Truck Run, which is co-sponsored by the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) and Wounded Warriors Family Support (WWFS), looks to change that.

The Purple Heart Run, as the Tallahassee Democrat reports, began on July 1 at the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and will end on August 13 at the MOPH National Convention in Dallas, Texas. The focus of the 2017 Purple Heart Run will be “Mobility is Freedom,” reports the outlet, and features a 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor that has been modified to accommodate for combat-wounded veterans.

The Raptor, as the Tallahassee Democrat reports, will be driven exclusively by amputee veterans coast-to-coast and then back again on an 8,500-mile journey over a six-week period. The vehicle will make stops in various cities across the country as it hopes to gain support for the truck run.

When the Raptor reaches its final destination in Texas, the keys for the truck will be handed over to retired Marine Corps Sgt. Marshall Kennedy, reports Stars and Stripes. Kennedy, who’s a Purple Heart recipient from Farmington, Ark., suffered severe damage to his left arm and lost both legs in an IED attack while on tour in Afghanistan back in 2011. He was chosen from a nationwide search of eligible nominees.

This year’s Purple Hear Truck Run is the second one in a row where a combat-wounded veteran is given a mobility-equipped Ford F-150. Last year, Purple Heart recipient Nicholas Thom received the keys to a 2015 Ford F-150 Super Cab pickup.