A group of Navy ROTC members is going on a four-day, 200-mile march from Auburn to Navarre, Florida, in memory of fallen Marines.
The group of 29 Marines, sailors and midshipmen from Auburn's ROTC left Tuesday on the ruck march called "Rucking for Raiders" in memory of the elite Marine Special Operations Team 8231, or the Raider 7, who died in a helicopter crash during a training mission in March 2015, according to a University release.
The exact length of the march is 201.5 miles to honor the year the servicemen died.
"As I drove home one day in October I thought of these men. I thought of their families," said Sgt. Daniel Campbell, who founded the march. "I realized just how fortunate I was to be heading home to spend time with my wife and three children. I returned from Afghanistan with these men just months before that tragic day. That could have been me."
Campbell is a current Auburn student and a member of the Navy ROTC.
The ROTC members will carry 45 pounds on their backs from noon Tuesday until 6 a.m., on May 12, regardless of the weather.
The marchers will be split into three teams, with each team marching more than seven miles while carrying seven memorial stones.
They will then link up with the next team in a relay. When they meet up, they will pass off their packs, and that team will carry them for the next 7.5 miles.
"We will humanize that tragic loss of true patriots and we will support the families left behind," said Campbell. "Always faithful, always forward."
Other veteran students and veterans from the area are also going to participate in the march.
The Raider 7 members being honored are Staff Sgt. Kerry M. Kemp, Capt. Stanford H. Shaw III, Master Sgt. Thomas A. Saunders, Staff Sgt. Andrew C. Seif, Staff Sgt. Liam A. Flynn, Staff Sgt. Marcus Bawol and Staff Sgt. Trevor P. Blaylock.
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