Alabama cops help a disabled Gulf War veteran who was WALKING nearly 100 miles across four counties on his own while carrying an oxygen tank to get to a doctor’s appointment
- The veteran was spotted by a deputy attempting to walk in the Jasper area in Walker County on Wednesday who said he had an appointment he couldn’t miss
- The deputy then drove the veteran to the Cullman county line and handed him off to another officer who drove him to the Morgan County line.
- From there, another officer drove the veteran to Madison County, where a deputy took the man to his appointment in Huntsville
- To make sure the veteran would return home safely, the deputies coordinated with the veteran and repeated their good deed on Thursday
- The man was not identified. But he was pictured as ‘our veteran friend’ in a Facebook post made by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office
- The veteran is seen posing with deputies from Morgan and Cullman counties
Sheriff’s deputies in Alabama who spotted a disabled Gulf War veteran setting out on a 100 mile walk with an oxygen tank to get to his doctor banded together to drive him across four counties to get him to his appointment.
The unidentified veteran needed a ride from the Jasper area to the Veterans Administration in Huntsville on Wednesday, authorities said.
When spotted from the roadside by a deputy in Walker County, the veteran explained it was an appointment he couldn’t miss.
A disabled Gulf War veteran attempted walking 100 miles in Alabama Wednesday to get to his doctor. Instead the man (center) was driven there by Cullman County Sherrif’s Deputy Colby Smith (left), a Morgan County offcer (right) and deputies from Walker and Madison counties
The above map shows an approximation of the 100 miles a disabled, Gulf War veteran was attempting to travel on foot for a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. Deputies from four counties coordinated to drive him after spotting him walking along the road
So the officer drove him to the Cullman County line, and handed off the veteran to another officer who drove him to the Morgan County line, where a deputy did the same and took the man to Madison County.
An officer from there drove the veteran to Holtsville where he made his appointment. Wanting to make sure the veteran would return home safely, the deputies coordinated with the veteran and repeated their good deed the next day.
‘We’re here to serve. That’s the mission of deputies, to help in every way we can,’ said Deputy Bradley Williams of the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office, who spoke on behalf of the officers to DailyMail.com.
The veteran’s name was not released.
However, he was pictured as ‘our veteran friend’ with two of the deputies in a Facebook post made by the Morgan County Sherrif’s office, and shared with the other departments.
Cullman County Sherrif’s Deputy Colby Smith is pictured on the left, according to the department. A deputy from Morgan County is on the right.
‘We are thankful for our Veterans and were honored to play a small role in supporting this man who gave a great deal for our country!’ the post reads.
The post had 22000 comments, 127000 likes and was shared 92000 thousand times. An update says more than five million people had seen the post and that there was an outpouring of support for the veteran.
‘We are in contact with him today to see how he wants to handle the outpouring of help! We should be able to update everyone later today!’ the department wrote in the 10am update on Friday.
A disabled Gulf War veteran attempted walking 100 miles with an oxygen tank to get to his doctor. Instead the man was driven there by deputies from Walker (pictured), Cullman, Morgan and Madison counties coordinated and got him there
A disabled Gulf War veteran attempted walking 100 miles with an oxygen tank to get to his doctor. Instead the man was driven there by deputies from Walker, Cullman (pictured), Morgan and Madison counties coordinated and got him there
A disabled Gulf War veteran attempted walking 100 miles with an oxygen tank to get to his doctor. Instead the man was driven there by deputies from Walker, Cullman, Morgan (pictured) and Madison counties coordinated and got him there
A disabled Gulf War veteran attempted walking 100 miles with an oxygen tank to get to his doctor. Instead the man was driven there by deputies from Walker, Cullman, Morgan and Madison (pictured) counties coordinated and got him there