Swimming the Mississippi

A feat no one's ever achieved before

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For the past few months, Navy veteran Chris Ring has been working to perform a feat no one has ever achieved before: swimming the entire length of the Mississippi River from its source in Minnesota to its outlet into the Gulf of Mexico. Ring’s swim is a project of Legacies Alive, a non-profit working to provide support to Gold Star families—those families that have lost a service member during wartime.

Ring’s swim is the second in a planned annual tradition in which a veteran performs an extreme physical challenge to raise awareness of Gold Star families and to honor the sacrifices made by our country’s fallen fighters. Last year, Legacies Alive co-founder Mike Viti hiked over 4,400 miles from Seattle to Washington, DC, over an indirect route that took him down the Pacific coast and across the Southwest and South. Along their routes, both Viti and Ring met with a number of Gold Star families, reminding them that their loved ones’ sacrifices were remembered with gratitude and worthy of commemoration. This year, these families have signed the kayak piloted by a member of Ring’s support team; he says that seeing these names on the boat ahead of him has helped give him the strength to continue.

As Louisianans know, the Mississippi is not a forgiving environment, and Ring has had to battle rapids, river traffic, adverse weather, and, of course, local wildlife to continue on his swim. This is even more impressive when you know that Ring was previously not a dedicated swimmer and began serious training only after deciding to attempt this challenge. Ring’s team reached St. Francisville Saturday, November 14, meaning he is within three hundred miles of becoming the first man to swim the length of America’s greatest river. He will stop in Baton Rouge and New Orleans en route to the Gulf.

Legacies Alive is primarily staffed by combat veterans and relies on donations to fulfill its mission of honoring the memories of fallen service members and supporting their families. To learn more, volunteer, or donate, visit LegaciesAlive.com.