Army vet completes cross-country trek to raise awareness for PTSD and suicide

An Army veteran’s five-month, 2,200-mile journey to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and veteran suicide came to an end Wednesday, when he reached his final destination at Santa Monica Pier flanked by dozens of supporters.

“I’m so grateful for the kindhearted people that helped me get through this,” Ernesto Rodriguez told Fox 11.

Rodriguez, who began his journey in Tennessee on Veterans Day 2016, was deployed four times and struggled with PTSD upon his return.

“Every deployment I felt a little more numb,” he told Fox 11. “It got to the point where when I went back to the civilian sector I didn’t know how to handle it.”