WACO, Texas — Memorial Day weekend is in full swing and one organization is getting their steps in to honor our fallen heroes.
Each year, five different routes within the Carry the Load organization spend 32 days traveling across the country to remember the lives lost while serving in the line of duty.
The West Coast relay chapter has spent 30 days traveling across the country to honor the fallen soldiers, and Friday, May 26, they made their way through the city of Waco.
"We're an organization that's trying to bring Memorial Day back to what it was," David Lindsey, West Coast relay manager, said.
32 days, 4,400 miles from Seattle to Dallas...all for our fallen heroes.
"We know that those families are always worried someone is going to forget their loved one," Lindsey said. "With this bus coming into town, we want to put that to bed and we just want to say your loved one is never going to be forgotten."
On Memorial Day weekend, individuals gathered at Waco Fire Station One to gear up for a 5.28 mile walk from East Waco to Veteran Memorial Park to help each other carry the load that people like Lindsey carry every day.
"I lost a cousin in 2011, we both worked for the Dallas Fire Department and he was killed in the line of duty. That was kind of when I really got involved with Carry the Load and that was when I found that commitment on this side of it," Lindsey said. "Carry the Load was kind of an outlet for me to kind of get rid of that grief."
It's the kind of grief that former navy seal and walker, Brad Aydelott, has lived with for much of his life.
"It kind of struck a chord with me," Aydelott said. "I got several ship mates that didn't make it. So, to do something in their honor and honor memorial day for what it is and remembering the folks who aren't with us anymore."
Starting in Seattle, Carry the Load stops in different locations along their journey to walk for lives lost either in a group of hundreds or a party of one.
"Some days it's good for us to kind of walk by ourselves just to remember what we're doing and remember our mission," Lindsey said.
It's a 32 day mission that brings former first responders, veterans and family all together to honor the fallen ... one step at a time.
"It's nice to do a thing in memory of someone," Aydelott said. "Something that's uncomfortable. I think we spend a lot of time trying not to be uncomfortable, so it's good to do that every now and then."
Carry the Load now heads to Dallas to wrap up their 32 day journey with a two-day Memorial March for Memorial Day Weekend.
Lindsey says they are expecting 25 to 30,000 people walking along the Katy Trail, all carrying their loved ones.
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