Vietnam veteran runs 58,282 miles to honor fallen and missing soldiers

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

On Friday, one Michigan man will complete a 58,282-mile journey in Washington. Mike Bowen, 65, is finishing a 31-year-long run to honor the fallen and missing American soldiers in the Vietnam war. After he visited the Vietnam war memorial in Washington D.C. in 1982, Bowen was inspired to start the monumental task of running one mile for all those killed or missing in action in the devastating conflict. Bowen enlisted in the army with a group of his high school classmates in 1966. He was the only one of his nine friends to come home. He began his training regimen after surviving cancer and recovering from chemotherapy. He went on to run 52 marathons and various other races across the country. He will finish the last four miles of the 58,282 miles run at the Vietnam memorial carrying a POW/MIA flag which has been with him every mile.