| Troy Yocum | |
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Troy Yocum at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. |
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| Birth name | Troy Yocum |
| Born | June 25, 1979 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Specialist |
Troy Yocum (born June 25, 1979) is a veteran of the Iraq war, who hiked over seven thousand miles across America in 2010-2011 to help bring awareness to issues faced by veterans and their families.
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Inspired by his World War II grandfather, who took his own life, and a close military friend, who lost his home after returning from deployment, Yocum decided to make it his personal mission to help struggling veterans.[1][2] He began a 16-month journey, dubbed "The Drum Hike" on April 17, 2010 at the Kentucky Derby's "Thunder Over Louisville" celebration. Yocum bangs his drum when entering towns and cities to bring attention to his cause and carries a bat for mayors and governors to sign.[3] Averaging 20 miles per day, the hike will take him, his wife, and two dogs over more than seven thousand miles[4] and 37 major U.S. cities by the time they make it home.[5] Troy's goal is to raise five million dollars and was sponsored by nonprofit Soldiers' Angels.[3][6] Due to the extreme physical activity, he has suffered several different medical complications. While in Colorado, he suffered an attack of kidney stones, which required hospitalization[7] and in January 2011, Yocum's foot became infected and hence slowed the hike.[8] In January 2011, Soldier's Angels pulled their support for Yocum due to concern for his health and well being.[3] He has raised more than $134,000 toward his cause through donations and sponsorships.[9] he soon picked up sponsorship from Wish upon A Hero Foundation and finished the remaining 2500 miles all the way to the east coast and back home to Louisville KY. In the final 6 months of the Hike for Heroes Troy Yocum raised another $1.1 million.
On May 26, 2011, Yocum was welcomed to Washington, DC by Congressman John Yarmuth (D-KY) accompanied by firefighters, veterans, and a police escort.[10]
Yocum completed his 7,880 mi. walk on Sept. 3, 2011.[11]
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Yocum met his wife Mareike in Germany. He proposed marriage to her on the 100th mile of the hike, and they were married at mile 256.[12] She walked over 4,000 miles with him during the course of the walk. Yocum was also accompanied by his Shiba Inu dog, Emmie.[11]
Yocum graduated in 1997 from Trinity High School in St. Matthews, Kentucky, and spent two years in the Army National Guard with the 151st Infantry of southern Indiana.[13]
In April 2009, Yocum attempted to beat the world record of 120 hours of marathon drumming set by Russ Prager in March 2009.[14][15] He was supported by his unit commander and the USO. In order to beat the record, he had to play for 120 hours in a row with only a five minute break every hour and without repeating any songs for four hours and thirty minutes.[13] He attempted to play 250 songs from the 1950s to modern styles.[16] He was forced to give up on the second day of the attempt after temperatures reached more than 100 degrees.[13]