MIAMI (WSVN) - The South Florida community is honoring over 40 injured veterans, including current patients at Walter Reed Medical Center, during this year’s Miami-Key West Soldier Ride.
The annual Wounded Warrior Project event began Thursday and will run through the weekend, marking its 20th year.
The event began when a lone cyclist took the 5,000-mile coast-to-coast journey to recognize post-9/11 injured veterans, giving rise to Soldier Ride.
Army veteran Jacob Norotsky was serving in Iraq back in 2007 when the helicopter he was in was attacked. He now suffers from PTSD as a result.
“It just felt like every hill we went just got better and better and all the guys and girls around me just overcoming and you could just hear the camaraderie getting better by the moment,” said Norotsky.
Soldier Ride has evolved over two decades, bringing large groups of injured veterans to cities across America.
Focused on fostering strong social connections, the program addresses mental and physical service-related challenges, enhancing stress, anxiety, and depression management while reducing suicide risk.
“You lose that uniform, you lose that sense of purpose and identity but what Wounded Warrior Project does is puts together events like this to create that sense of camaraderie again. That sense of team, that sense of challenge. It brings you around with your brothers and sisters.” said James Herrera with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Soldier Ride not only provides support but also allows the community to celebrate often overlooked wounded warriors as they cycle through local streets.
“With Soldier Ride, no one ever rides alone. We ride together as a unit just like they did during their service time,” said Herrera.
Thursday’s section of the ride began in Miami Beach and ended at LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. The ride will continue down towards Key West over the Seven Mile Bridge on Friday. The group will rest on Saturday and end the event on Sunday with a trip to the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon.
“It’s just so amazing that so many people come from so many places all over the country, and it’s like we’ve been best friends our entire lives and just that instant bond of being back with brothers and sisters again. It’s just an amazing ride,” said Norotsky.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.