SEQUIM — Daryl Knuth has a favor to ask of his neighbors: Would anyone be willing to help provide a night’s lodging and maybe a meal to seven strangers who are set to arrive in Sequim in late August or early September?
Normally, that might be a tall ask. But these strangers aren’t just anyone. They’re veterans.
Some served their country in uniform for decades. Some didn’t serve quite that long, but they served nonetheless.
The men make up this year’s Warrior Bike program, which is part of Warrior Expeditions, a national organization that aims to help veterans, male and female, process their military experiences through long-distance outdoor expeditions. In addition to Warrior Bike, there also are Warrior Hike and Warrior Paddle programs.
Participating veterans are provided training, equipment, clothing and supplies. Along the way, communities help by providing transportation, lodging and food.
Warrior Expeditions explains its outdoor expeditions on its website, warriorexpeditions.org.
Historically, military units could spend months marching home from war, and the long journey would provide them with the opportunity to process and come to terms with their wartime experiences. But modern-day travel has eliminated that chance to reflect. Today, military personnel arrive home much more quickly, sometimes ill-prepared for a sudden return to civilian life.
Since 2001, more than 3 million veterans have returned home from war, but many of them never transitioned from their experiences, the organization’s website states. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says an estimated 20 percent of post-9/11 veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Warrior Bike program is a 3,700-mile pilgrimage that begins in Washington, D.C., and ends in La Push. Participants traverse the Great American Rail-Trail, which crosses 12 states, with 150-plus host trails. The journey takes place from May through August.
Warrior Hike traverses 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail that crosses 14 states from Georgia to Maine.
It takes place from March through September.
Warrior Paddle is from June through September and involves traversing 2,300 miles of the Mississippi River across 10 states, from Minnesota to Louisiana.
For the past six years, Warrior Bike participants have traveled through Sequim because of the expansion of the Olympic Discovery Trail, said Knuth, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a member of the Military Officers Association of America’s (MOAA) Olympic Peninsula (OLYPEN) Chapter.
The Peninsula Trails Coalition and its board president, Jeff Bohman, have been supporters of the program, Knuth said.
A local supporter who once handled lodging for the annual travelers is no longer able to help, Knuth said, so he is trying to fill the gap by finding people willing to open their homes to one or more participating veterans. Knuth hopes to not only find lodging for this year’s group — which just happens to be all-male — but he envisions a welcoming party, maybe at Carrie Blake Community Park, and help transporting the group back from La Push.
“My goal this year is to get a little more community involvement than we’ve had in the past,” Knuth said. “Maybe have, like, a little welcoming party for them, and especially at the finish, if people can come out. I mean, the area is just full of retired people such as myself and a lot of veterans who would probably come out and support (Warrior Bike participants).”
This year’s veterans set to cycle into Sequim are:
• Bradley Hagstrom of Chesterfield, Va., who served in the infantry from 2009-2014 and was deployed to Afghanistan.
• Matthew Hofmeister of Olympia, a member of the Special Forces who served from 1992-2022 and was deployed to Iraq.
• David Martel of Watertown, N.Y., who served in the infantry from 1983-2015 and was deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
• John Morash of Linden, Va., a member of intelligence who served from 1989-2013 and was deployed to Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Frank Nicholson of Stafford, Va., who served in space and missile operations from 1990-2011 and was deployed to Iraq.
• Michael Owens of Clayton, N.C., who served in health care in the U.S. Army from 2014-2018 and was deployed to Iraq.
• Lloyd Stephenson of Springfield, Va., who served in artillery in the U.S. Army from 1984-2004 and was deployed to Somalia.
Journey’s end
Warrior Bike participants won’t arrive in Sequim at the same time, Knuth said. They travel at their own pace, although some might pair up. Knuth said weekly reports are provided by Sarah Zeller, Warrior Expeditions’ director of operations, so he will have a heads-up as the cyclists get closer to Sequim.
La Push traditionally welcomes the Warrior Bike veterans. Sometimes, family members are able to be there to help celebrate their loved one’s accomplishment, Knuth said. Upon arrival, the bicycles used on the expedition are turned in to the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard disassembles them and ships them back to Warrior Expeditions.
Those who need one are provided with a ride to Port Angeles, where they are welcome to stay overnight at Captain Joseph House, which provides a respite for Gold Star families. It was founded by Betsy Schultz in honor of her only child, Captain Joseph Schultz, who was killed in action in Afghanistan.
From Port Angeles, the veterans typically hop on a bus or ferry to begin their journey home, Knuth said.
Those who would like to welcome the veterans to town or provide food or lodging can contact Knuth at 301-233-7147 or dknuth.changeagent@gmail.com.
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Kathy Cruz is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. She can be reached by email at kathy.cruz@sequimgazette.com.
Frank Nicholson.
David Martel.
Bradley Hagstrom.
Matthew Hofmeister.
John Morash.
Michael Owens.
Lloyd Stephenson.
