A 95-year-old World War II Navy veteran is running -- and sometimes walking -- from the Atlantic to the Pacific in what will be his second trip across the United States on foot.
Ernest Andrus is traveling from St. Simons Island in Georgia to San Diego in an effort to raise enough money to take a restored World War II ship back to Normandy for a future D-Day memorial event. Moving only 13 miles per week, he says he'll finish his cross-country journey at the age of 100.
"I didn’t raise near enough money on my first run so I’m trying again," Andrus wrote on a website that is chronicling his ongoing journey.
"The feat is undertaken to raise money for the LST 325 Ship Memorial. I was one of the crew that brought the ship back from the Isle of Crete, Greece," to the U.S. in the early 2000s, he added. "It is my dream to take the ship back to Normandy for a D-Day Memorial."
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The 325 is the only remaining LST that is fully restored and operational. LST stands for "Landing Ship, Tank." The vessels were designed to land battle-ready tanks on beaches for amphibious invasions like D-Day. Andrus says he was a medic on a similar ship in the Pacific.
“My job was to keep those Marines alive. Never lost a patient the whole war," he told WTOC, which had recently caught up to him on his second trip, already well underway.
On Monday, Andrus was running near Monticello, Fla., a city in the north-central part of the state. He set off from St. Simons on March 16.
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When he completed his first cross-country run, which he started at age 90 and finished at 93, Andrus told local media he enjoyed the trip — a distance longer than 90 marathons. "I'm glad to have finished and met the goal," he said according to The Brunswick News. "But I wish it wasn't over."
Andrus says part of the reason he's running again is to set an example for future generations.
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“Freedom is not free! We were called on to do our part. Generations were called on do their part, and future generations will probably have to do their part," he told WTOC.
A website called Coast2CoastRuns is set up to publicize Andrus' trip. It also accepts donations for his journey and the LST 325 Ship Memorial. The ship currently is based in Evansville, Ind. and offers tours to the public year-round.
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
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