A group of Marines is marching 22 kilometers, or about 13.5 miles, wearing nothing but short shorts—called “silkies”—and hauling 22 kilograms, or about 50 pounds, of gear to honor the 22 service members who commit suicide every day.
“Imagine a pub crawl with all your Marine buddies wearing nothing but silkies and rucks on the most crowded and beautiful boardwalk in California. That’s what’s going on here,” a Facebook page for Sunday’s event, “22, with 22, for the 22, in silkies,” says. The event is co-sponsored by two veteran support groups, Irreverent Warriors and VETality Corp.
The journey begins at South Mission Beach Jetty in San Diego and will end at La Jolla Cove.
Each day, 22 veterans—or about 8,000 former military servicemembers—commit suicide.
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