JAY – Two former Army sergeants who served together in Iraq plan to hike the Appalachian Trail end-to-end to raise money for the nation’s homeless veterans and draw attention to their plight.

Jarad Greeley, 25, of Jay and Marshall Berry, 28, of New Hampshire plan to travel to Georgia and begin the more than 2,000-mile trek to Maine on March 8.

“This may seem like a long hike, but put into perspective with the number of homeless veterans that we are trying to help, [it] seems minor,” Greeley said.

The hike is being sponsored by Palmer Hebert, past commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Jay, and Lynn Dunton, the post’s past president. They are contacting VFWs along the route to suggest that they provide the hikers with a hot meal or put them up for the night.

An estimated 195,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, while nearly 400,000 experience homelessness during the course of a year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“When I learned that one in four homeless people are veterans from some war, I felt like I needed to give back to these veterans, while just getting out of the service, you know,” Greeley said.

Greeley and Berry had served together in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division, Greeley as a forward observer and Berry as a medic. The two were discharged Feb. 4 at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Both had previously hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail and they decided while in Iraq that they wanted to hike it in its entirety for a good cause.

Hebert, who plans to conduct fundraisers in conjunction with the hike, praised the effort by Greeley and Berry.

The plight of homeless veterans “is a very big problem … and probably one of the most needy programs that a lot of people don’t look at much,” Hebert said. “So for kids at that age to want to take on such a grueling project, I can’t say enough about what they’re doing.”

To help the nation’s homeless veterans through the Appalachian Trail journey of Jarad Greeley and Marshall Berry, write to The Homeless Veterans, P.O. Box 27, Jay 04239, or call the Otis Federal Credit Union in Jay at 897-0900.