March from Canton to Woodstock Honors Fallen Soldiers on Memorial Day

The nonprofit Shepherd’s Men marched 12 miles from Canton to Woodstock in honor of fallen military service members Monday — with some participants carrying a 160-pound barrel.

The barrel contained Clarity Lager, a newly launched beer by Hop City Brews, developed and marketed in collaboration with Reformation Brewery to benefit Shepherd’s Men and their work to heal injured veterans.

Shepherd’s Men is a team of active duty, medically retired and honorably discharged servicemen and civilians raising funds and awareness for the Atlanta-based Shepherd Center’s SHARE Military Initiative.

According to the organization, the 160-pound barrel symbolizes the weight of sacrifice in honor of those who lost their lives in service to the United States.

The march began Monday morning at Reformation Brewery in Canton, and ended in the afternoon at Reformation’s downtown Woodstock location, where Kevn Kinney of Drivin N Cryin performed music.

“On Memorial Day, we gather to honor the brave souls that gave the last full measure of devotion. We preserve their memory by living meaningful lives and being our best selves,” said Travis Ellis, co-founder of Shepherd’s Men. “We also celebrate the victory that so many have found through the SHARE Military Initiative at Shepherd Center. Our hope is that in our efforts, we find warfighters in need, get them to SHARE and thus get them well. In doing so, this healing will ensure that families are able to gather by the pool or backyard grill and not by a slab of marble, mourning a hero’s life lost. May we forever, Remember the Brave.”

SHARE Military Initiative is a comprehensive program that provides free clinical care to post-9/11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information about this free program, go to www.shepherdsmen.com or https://www.shepherd.org/patient-programs/share-military-initiative.

“We march for our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, for our brothers and sisters who are still fighting long after leaving the battlefield and for our brothers and sisters who have not yet returned home,” said Travis Ellis, Shepherd’s Men co-founder. “We will not rest until the number of lives lost every day to suicide goes from 22 to zero. Our veterans deserve to live meaningful, gratifying lives with their families after their courageous service to our country.”