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A retired US Marine spent Memorial Day weekend saluting for 24 hours on a median to raise awareness about veteran suicide

(CNN) — One retired United States Marine spent Memorial Day weekend honoring fallen veterans by standing on a Washington, DC median for 24 hours and saluting.
Retired US Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers stood at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street Northwest for 24 hours and saluted in order to raise awareness about veteran suicide.
“It’s a very emotional time, very emotional,” Chambers’ wife, Lorraine Heist-Chambers, told CNN affiliate WKRG. “This is something that he needs to do every year and I support him for it. No matter what it takes, we get out here.”
This has been an annual tradition for Chambers since 2002 when he began saluting motorcyclists during Rolling Thunder.
Rolling Thunder is an advocacy group that remembers prisoners of war and those missing in action. The group holds its First Amendment Demonstration Run every year on Memorial Day. The demonstration and protest is meant “to bring awareness and accountability for POWs and MIAs left behind,” the group’s website says.
According to the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, an active duty service member or veteran dies by suicide almost once an hour.
Source: eastidahonews.com

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