Roads go ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
One week from beginning the journey, the Veterans embarking on this adventure are checking and re-checking their backpacks and sorting, time and again, the meager supplies that they will carry on the 500-mile French Camino.
The excitement of the unknown, the anticipation of tired and aching muscles, the eagerness to hear and share stories yet untold. The echoes of the millions of footsteps from over 1,000 years of Peregrinos already reverberating in their chests.
Dan, Piotr and Witold have stood the watch. Each have experienced the triumphs and the horrors brought about by battle. And each will undoubtedly find themselves revisiting those moments in the time and space that the Camino demands from each traveler walking The Way.
But we take this journey not only for ourselves, but also for our brothers and sisters who cannot be here with us in person. They will walk with us in spirit and in our thoughts. I will be personally walking this Camino in memory of Casey Saunier – a Marine who stood in the face of evil yet perished by his own demons.
I look forward to sharing what I can of this journey. Learn more about these remarkable Veterans as we leave our footprints on the way to Santiago de Compostella.
Thank you to each and every person who has helped make this possible by supporting Veterans on the Camino. Thank you to the VOC volunteers for their tireless efforts in bringing this all together. In particular, thank you to Jean Baptiste who has been a part of this program from the beginning and will once again be walking with us, carrying his trademark guitar like a troubadour of the medieval times.
I wish you all “Buen Camino” and look forward to sharing this story as it unfolds,
Brad Genereux
Founder of Veterans on the Camino
Veterans on the Camino 
Hi Brad, I will be in Spain again this year volunteering at a hostel in Ligonde. It is Fuente del Peregrino. You can stay for free and have a nice dinner and breakfast the next morning all for no charge. I will be cooking again this year the first week of June but you all will probably be done by then. I pray you and your men have a meaningful journey.
Heidi Hodges
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Heidi, I hope to volunteer at an albergue one of these days. I keep thinking of helping out David at Bodenaya on the Primitivo, one of the most exceptional places I’ve encountered! I think we will have already passed through by the time you are there but I thank you for your gracious offer. Buen Camino!
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