Army Vet On Cross-Country Trek To Shed Light On PTSD In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- The Veterans Administration reports about 20 veterans commit suicide every day. Two of them were friends of Eli Smith, himself an Army veteran who served near the DMZ in South Korea.

Smith wants to help by focusing more attention to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). So he went big on his attention grabber. He's walking to the four corners of the United States: 13,000 miles over four years.

This week he was in San Francisco.

As he toured around Union Square, strangers came up to him after noticing his cart adorned with signs explaining his trek.

The 37-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has walked 3,000 miles since November. And it hasn't been easy.

"I've ran out of food before and there was a kidnapping attempt and rattle snakes and heat stroke was a couple days ago … it's nothing compared to what these veterans of PTSD go through every day," Smith said.

You can follow his journey on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/4CornersHike/