“We will figure this out, together.” 

Wyo West Warrior Foundation and INVI MindHealth present the Veterans Day Monster Mash 

Forty plus veterans take their own lives every day. Firefighters die by suicide at double the rate of the civilian population. EMS providers are 1.39 times more likely to die by suicide than the civilian population.

Some of the bravest souls among us have taken their own lives because they felt they had nowhere to turn, some because they believe no one would understand, others choose to die rather than take valuable resources from another person.

Brad Walden co-founded The Wyo West Warrior Foundation in 2017, a non-profit dedicated to veterans and Gold Star Families. Walden made an appearance on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse with former Navy SEAL Jonathan Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and founder of INVI MindHealth, to announce the Veterans Day Monster Mash. 

The race has invited the members and former members of US Armed Forces Special Operations – Navy SEALs and Green Berets –  along with professional athletes to swim 10 miles and transition to a 200 mile foot race all to raise funds in an effort to end veteran suicide. 

Walden said after he met Wilson, it didn’t take long to convince him the course should be in Wyoming and end in Sheridan. 

B. Walden

The race will begin just below the Bighorn Dam, as the participants will be helo cast (dropped from helicopters) into the cold November waters. Each swimmer will have kayak support, wetsuits and fins. Once the 10 mile swim is completed, they will extract at the Bighorn Mountain Lodge, dry off, and begin their 200 mile foot race. The race will take them into the Crow Agency, transition southward making contact with Henry Realbird and four other Crow warriors. The warriors will then visit the spot General George Armstrong Custer fell at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The participants will then begin their run to Parkman and Ranchester, then into Dayton. From Dayton to WyArno and then to Jim Creek Hill and Piney Creek and then make their way around Lake DeSmet. From this point they will run to Story and Bird Farm Road and into Big Horn. From Big Horn the racers will run into Sheridan.

B. Walden

Proceeds from this monumental effort will go to benefit The Invisible Wounds Foundation. 

Former Navy SEAL Jonathan Wilson wished to address veterans, EMS, firefighters and law enforcement. 

J. Wilson  

To support this effort and make a donation, click here and find a link at the top of the page. 

Sheridan Media will have more from Brad Walden and the Wyo West Warrior Foundation and Jonathan Wilson from INVI MindHealth in upcoming stories.