His last morning on the river, he read scripture beneath a rainbow that peeked through puffy white clouds overhead
Posted on 08/08/2014 9:37:07 AM PDT by Kartographer
A former Afghanistan Marine who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder has found refuge in rowing the length of the Mississippi river.
The trip to the mouth of the river at the Gulf of Mexico took Joshua Ploetz, 69 days, about 50 of them spent paddling.
But Ploetz said he needed every inch of the more than 2,500-mile river to paddle away the demons of the war, or at least calm them a bit.
Ploetz, 30, from Winona, Minnesota, returned from the war eight years ago after being injured by a roadside bomb, suffering a minor stroke and watching his friends die.
But adapting to civilian life proved difficult. Relationships failed, employment was hard to come by and, Ploetz said, he had an overwhelming feeling of being 'lost.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2718726/Former-Marine-paddles-away-2-tours-Afghanistan.html#ixzz39orHpyjp Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ping!
War injures men’s souls far more than politicians want to admit.
A Warrior’s Blessing
May your sword be ever sharp and your arm remain strong.
May your eyes be keen and your arrow’s flight true.
May your lance never break and your body endure.
May your knife be ever at hand in need and your mind always vigilant and alert as to your enemy’s intent.
And I pray that God would watch over you and keep you, so that you may return home safely and in valor, to enjoy that which you have fought to defend.
And there living out your life in peace and prosperity until the end of your days.
I love adventure stories like that and truly hope he gets better. My son and I were talking yesterday about planning a week long paddling trip next summer and he suggested the Mississippi. Too far away to consider.
He said the worst time was after he reached St Louis where all the slaughter houses dumped their waste grease and fat in the river. The fats would clump together and make large floating lumps he had to swim through.
PUT ME BACK IN THE WATER. I AM PADDLE TO THE SEA.
That’s some journey. I grew up near a little tributary of the Susquehanna River called Gashey’s Creek. When I was 9, I followed it from source at Webster Lake to the end of the line. Probably somewhere around 8 miles with all the twists and turns. Thought I was Magellan.
If I remember correctly, the movie changed the river to the St Lawrence Seaway or Hudson.
The book had the Mississippi river. The illustrations in the book were GREAT!
God bless him and keep him.
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