This war veteran’s epic journey concluded with a royal finish.
U.S. Marine Kirstie Ennis completed a 1,000-mile walk across the U.K. to raise awareness for disabled military members on Sunday, People.com reported, ending the trek at Buckingham Palace with an emotional embrace from Prince Harry. Ennis distributed 24 military dog tags to people she met during her journey, giving her final token to the prince.
"No I can't, I can't accept this," Harry said, as reported by People.com, to which Ennis replied, "Please, you know what this means to me, I want you to.”
Ennis, 24, was injured in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2012. Since then, she has undergone 38 surgeries, the Mirror reported, and is due to have her left leg amputated. The former Marine completed the walk with four former British soldiers and another U.S. Marine to raise money and awareness for Walking With the Wounded, which helps injured military members regain independence. Prince Harry officially announced the event, called the Walk of Britain, in March, and joined Ennis and her teammates at two points along their 72-day journey, BBC reported.
The dog tag Ennis handed the 31-year-old royal was to honor of Cpl. Baune, from Minnesota, who died in combat just 10 days before Ennis was injured, according to People.com.
"I look at situations like that, he never came home, he had a wife and a family but he never came home,” she told the news outlet. “The six of us here today did come home, we are actually the lucky ones. The least we can do is share their legacy and honor their memory.”
As of Monday, the Walk of Britain team has raised nearly $13,000, according to the WWTW website.
To learn more about the walk, click here.
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