‘It doesn’t matter on the weather’: Veterans walk 3 miles on frigid Lincoln morning

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A group of veterans braved wind chills as low as 8 degrees Friday morning on a 3-mile walk from Memorial Stadium to the Veterans Memorial Garden in Antelope Park.

One veteran who walked today was William S. Duffield II, an army combat engineer who fought in the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

“We been doing this for 24 years; next year is the 25th, a big anniversary for this,” he said. “Started up so people would not forget us.”

Despite the frigid temperatures, Duffield said they still had 15 to 20 veterans do the walk.

“It doesn’t matter on the weather, we still do it,” he said. “I’ll always do it as long as I can, as long as I’m alive. It’s just something that makes me feel good, to do this for other veterans that can’t do it.”

Duffield said both veterans and their families are welcome to participate every year.

“We walk, people drive by and honk at us, we wave at them,” he said. “Like I said, it makes all of us feel good, that we can still do this for the veterans that can’t. Some years, we have a small amount like this, some years we have, like, 60 or 70 people walk with us.”

After the walk, there was a Veterans Day ceremony at the Auld Pavillion to honor the service members and discuss the importance of the holiday.

Joyce Peck, a gold star mother who attended the ceremony, said her son, Staff Sgt. Patrick Hamburger, died while serving in Afghanistan.

Hamburger, a flight engineer, was one of 30 Americans who died in a Chinook helicopter crash on Aug. 6, 2011, after being hit by the Taliban. Peck said Patrick always put country first and family second.

“He told me once…if I have to die, I want to die in service of my country,” she said. “That’s when I realized he was a true soldier.”

Peck said gold star mom is a title no one wants, but she’s received a lot of support from other parents and families of military members.

She said it’s really important for people to remember those who have served and show how much they care.

“It takes a long time, and you never recover from it,” Peck said. “You always have this hole in your heart. But you go from sadness to remembering all the fun times you had together.”