Virginia’s Rob Diamond will be carrying dog tags with the names of veterans, first responders who have died by suicide along with him, as well as sharing Be the One information at stops.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail has been a longtime dream for Department of Virginia Legionnaire Rob Diamond. On Feb. 16, he’ll realize that dream – and be taking Be the One with him on his journey.
Diamond, a member of American Legion Post 149 in Dinwiddie, Va., will be sharing information about the Legion’s veteran suicide prevention mission along the route. He’ll also be carrying with him hopefully more than 200 dog tags with the names of veterans and first responders who have died by suicide.
“My goal, ultimately, was to at least carry 222 dog tags,” Diamond said. “If I get more than that, I’m going to carry more than that. If a family member wants me to carry their hero’s name, I will gladly take it. If the family member wants to share a story about the (veteran), they can.”
Undergoing a journey such as this has been what Diamond calls “a longtime goal.” He began backpacking at an early age and got involved in Scouting, an activity that extended to more than 30 years while serving as a Scoutmaster. When he relocated to Virginia, he became involved with a Scout troop that regularly took a long bicycle trip along the C&O Canal, which runs from West Virginia to Washington, D.C.
While on his first bicycle ride along the canal, he ran into a group of backpackers who were hiking the Appalachian Trail, which immediately piqued his curiosity. Hiking the entire trail, which runs 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, requires around a six-month commitment. But family responsibilities – Diamond and his wife have adopted six children – and his job as a firefighter meant the hike had to be put on hold.
But the desire didn’t go away, and last Easter during a family dinner discussion involving bucket list items, Diamond brought up hiking the trail. “My wife was sitting in the back there, and she said, ‘If that’s what you want to do, why don’t you go do it?’” Diamond said. “That’s when I committed to doing it.”
But it was over the last 11 months in which Diamond decided to honor on his hike both veterans and first responders who have taken their own lives. Last May, he traveled to Damascus, Va., for Trail Days, which celebrates hikers attempting to thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail each year, as well as those who have successfully traversed the Trail in years past.
He went to talk with some of the hikers attempting the trail, but that’s when he noticed something else. “The Appalachian Trail literally walks right next to a beautiful veterans memorial garden,” Diamond said, but then shared an interaction he had with a veteran who had contemplated suicide, found help and went on to hike the trail.
“He said, ‘The trail has literally saved his life,’” Diamond said. “It kind of hit home when he said that to me. I thought about it a lot while I was sitting there. Driving home, I called my daughter, who is a first lieutenant in the Army stationed in Hawaii. I think I was a little bit aware of the fact that we were losing veterans to suicide, but never to the extreme (that it was). My daughter said, ‘Well dad, maybe when you hike the trail, maybe you should try to bring attention to (the veteran suicide) problem.’”
Serving as first vice commander at Post 149, Diamond sought permission from his post commander to be gone for the six months. He got support from the post, as well as suggestions to amplify the veteran suicide message and use the hike as a fundraiser that will benefit organizations that support veteran and first responder mental health, as well as raise funds for Post 149’s “Vets Helping Vets” program, which provides personal hygiene products for veterans being treated in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.
Diamond also had conversations with fellow retired firefighters, who noted that first responders have a high rate of suicide. “I just said, ‘You know what? I need to bring attention to this problem,’” he said. “And lo and behold, there was a guy who was doing it on the veterans’ side of house (former Tango Alpha Lima podcast guest and Georgia Legionnaire George Eshleman). He carried 363 name tapes on his Appalachian Trail trip to bring attention to veteran suicide.”
Diamond called Eshelman to learn more about his journey and was encouraged to start collecting names of veterans and first responders to have died by suicide in order to take them with him on his journey. A laser engraver as a hobby, Diamond decided to carry dog tags with him, engraved with the names he’d collected.
Those wanting to have a dog tag on the trip can email Diamond to provide him with names that he can place on the dog tags. Due to medical reasons, he will be taking a break every eight weeks during his hike, so he will be able to add names throughout his trip.
“The whole thought is that when you are hiking the trail, you want to bring attention to a problem, but how do you do that?” Diamond said. “If you’re crazy enough to add an additional three to four to five pounds of weight to your backpack that you’re going to carry for 2,200 miles, and it’s hanging off of your backpack, it’s going to create a window for discussion with other people.”
While attending the Department of Virginia American Legion College, Diamond heard a presentation on Be the One. That made him want to make promoting the Legion’s top priority throughout his hike. He’ll be placing Be the One stickers in the shelter logs he signs in at along the trails stops.
“When you’re on the trail there are going to be days when you want to quit. Everybody says that,” he said. “My motivation to not quit is going to be carrying those dog tags. If I know the personal story (of the name), that will make it even more for me to continue to get up every morning and drive on and walk more miles.”
Once he gets under way, Diamond will be vlogging while on his journey. Follow his travels here.
- Be the One