Soldier's dad walks for warriors

John Cote hit the road April 1 to tackle a 2,140-mile walk in the name of wounded warriors and their families. Cote, 56, is walking from Camp Pendleton, Calif., to Fort Benning in hopes of raising $2 million to benefit the Fisher House Foundation.

In his first week on the road, CotAfA.. has already raised more than $14,000 for the charity, which provides free temporary accommodations near major military and Veterans Affairs medical centers to families of wounded service members during treatment and recovery.

Cote is not a former wounded warrior, nor is he a veteran of the armed forces. He's simply a man who learned about the Fisher House Foundation while listening to a radio show. Five years later, the message of helping wounded Soldiers continued to resonate with him when his son, 2LT John Claude Cote, joined the military.

Cote said he drew inspiration for the walk, dubbed the Walk for Warriors, from his son, who is serving with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y.

When John Claude graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point last year, Cote said hearing the stories of his son's friends, some of whom were prior service, brought attention to the sacrifices service members have made.

"It's a very quiet story right now, and it shouldn't be," said Cote, by phone on the sixth day of his cross-country trek.

Cote has set a 20-mile-a-day pace to reach Fort Benning July 16. Cote said he chose Fort Benning because of the post's role as a major training installation preparing troops for combat. CotAfA.. also has a personal tie to the post, his son attended the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course here last year and plans to

return in June for Ranger School.

"I made an association between Camp Pendleton and Fort Benning because they are both huge training bases for service members going into combat," CotAfA.. said. "I figured what better two beginning and ending points'"

CotAfA.. will cross through eight states on his walk, including Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

CotAfA.. is carrying along a laptop to blog about his progress throughout the 110-day journey. To read the blog, visit www.walkforwarriors.blogspot.com.

Fisher House

The Fisher House Foundation is billed as a "home away from home" for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The foundation currently operates 45 houses - which typically measure 5,000 to 16,000 square feet and contain eight to 21 suites. The nonprofit organization, which is celebrating its 20th year, has offered more than 2.5 million days of free lodging to more than 130,000 families worldwide, saving them more than $100 million in lodging, according to the foundation.

In March, President Barack Obama donated $250,000 of his Nobel Peace Prize award money to the foundation. The foundation's chairman and chief executive officer Kenneth Fisher said the money will support the construction of additional Fisher Houses at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Dover Air Force Base, Del.,

For more information on Fisher House, visit www.fisherhouse.org.

To donate to Walk for Warriors, visit active.com/donate/teamfisherhouse/walkforwarriors.