Mission 22 Texas State Leader Robert Rohde speaks to supporters on Sunday at the Mission 22 National Awareness Walk.

Organizer Robert Rohde walked Sunday from Broadway Square Mall because he wants Americans to know that “we are losing our veterans daily.”

“It is our belief that the more people know, the more things will be done to lower that number,” Rhode said. “Our personal mission is to end veteran suicide so no parents have to go through the pain we do daily. You are not supposed to bury your kids.”

Rhode and his wife, Barbie, organized the Mission 22 national awareness walk in Tyler. For the walk, a group of people met at the mall to walk 2.22 miles to draw attention to the number in the national organization’s name. According to a study released in 2013 by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 22 veterans die by suicide per day.

The Rohdes know firsthand what its like to be affected by the number. They got involved after losing their son, Cody Bowman, to suicide. The former Army sergeant died in 2019.

Walker Jarrod Meadows said he is a strong supporter of the organization and felt more should be done to bring awareness to the issue.

“There is not enough appreciation for veterans in today’s society, so this cause and every cause like this is pretty important to me,” he said.

Jennifer Pacheco, who has organized events for veterans’ issues, said she lost her military husband to suicide in 2014 and felt it was important to keep networking across organizations.

“Now that I’m in a place of healing, I want to be part of the movement to bring awareness,” she said.

Pacheco said the walk is an important way to let the veteran and military community know they are not alone.

“This walk is important because we want our soldiers to know they have community support. They aren’t alone,” she said. “Why is it not important that we have men and women who have defended our freedoms are dying from suicide at the average rate of 22 per day? And that is the national average. For the state of Texas, the average is higher. We walk to break the stigma. I want people to know that this deserves and needs our attention. These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends who suffered in silence. We will speak for them until 22 becomes none.”

For more information, visit www.mission22.com.