Iraq Veteran Walks 1,000 Miles to Help Children Impacted By War

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A soldier hit the front lines of the battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to find the war was hurting the children in those countries the worst.

Now he is hoping he can save them and U.S. soldiers overseas - one step at a time.

Gunnar Swanson is walking from Dallas to Minnesota trying to raise funds to build a youth center and job for children overseas.

The Iraq veteran said he was saddened by the problems children faced in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"When I first got there I got to interact with kids a lot, and it really meant a lot to me and a lot to the soldiers there," he said.

But, Swanson said the children's lives were quickly taken away and forced into violence in the war-torn countries.

"The insurgent groups started using kids to do their dirty work, and place roadside bombs," he said. "They're just innocent kids but they're really trapped in a really bad situation."

So when Swanson returned home he decided to make the 1,000 mile trek from Texas to Minnesota to raise funds for the lost children of the war and share their story with the hundreds of children he meets along the way.