Throughout the month of May, Carry the Load, a national organization dedicated to restoring the true meaning of Memorial Day, is promoting the “Walk for Veterans,” a relay event that includes crossing the country in two groups, the East Coast and West Coast, to fulfill that purpose.

Today, the West Coast Group passed through San Angelo on their way to Dallas to join the East Coast group coming in from Boston. In fact, when San Angelo LIVE! caught up to them, they were passing through Eola. According to the event organizer Matt Fryman, the West Coast group started in Seattle at the beginning of the month, and will trek 4,300 miles total to make it to their destination on Memorial Day, May 30.

The initiative is new for the West Coast.

Above: Members of Carry the Load organization pass through Jerome, Arizona. (Contributed photo/Austin Morris, Carry the Load)

“This is the first year [for] the West Coast relay,” said Fryman, who mentioned that the East Coast relay has been going on for over five years.

When asked about the importance of the event, Fryman explained that the walk tries “to change people’s minds about the holiday” and to restore its true purpose.

“[It’s] to get them away from the sales and barbecues and back to honoring those who gave their lives for our country,” Fryman explained.

Additionally, Fryman said not only military veterans should be remembered on Memorial Day, but also “law enforcement officers and first responders.”

Above: Members of Carry the Load organization pass through Jerome, Arizona. (Contributed photo/Austin Morris, Carry the Load)

According to this non-profit organization's website, former Navy SEAL and war veteran Clint Bruce sat at a barbecue on Memorial Day, thinking about the friends he lost in combat. He felt the people around him had a very different view of what Memorial Day meant.

"Not knowing what else to do, Clint came up with a way to honor his fallen brethren, and share in the pain that they went through to give us our freedom," noted the website. "He decided to do what he did most when he was protecting our country alongside the buddies he lost. Clint strapped on his pack and began walking, all the while thinking about the guys that sacrificed for him, and for you. As he walked, he encountered another veteran, an older gentleman who knew exactly why, and exactly what Bruce was doing without either of them speaking a word. With understanding and wisdom, the man simply said, 'Son, who are you carrying?' And with those five words, Carry The Load was born."

For more information on the organization, click here.