Watch the amazing video below:
Video Credit: Facebook/Travis MacCody Strong
Former Army Staff Sgt. Travis Strong, who lost his legs fighting for the United States in Iraq, climbed the steep manitou incline in Colorado to raise awareness for vet suicide rates.
“I lost my legs during an attack in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2006. I was in a Stryker vehicle that was hit by a projectile that went through the truck and through my legs” he told KRDO.
The 41-year-old climbed over 3000 steps in five hours using his arms. He was accompanied by a group of Fort Carson soldiers.
It was Strong’s second round trip of the hiking trail. He completed the first climb in nine hours.
Strong decided to do it when he saw another double amputee military veteran, Mandy Horvath climbing the famous Incline Gains and Pikes Peak slopes in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
She was the first female to climb Incline Gains and Pikes Peak slopes in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I never thought about doing it until last summer. Here was this young woman, injured more recently than I was, making the climb.”
“I thought it was amazing. She motivated me.”
Strong wanted to raise awareness for veteran suicide rates as 22 veterans die every day in the United States by suicide.
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