February 1 , 2010 Newspaper Article About My Walking For The Troops

Flag-toting Man Puts Boots On The Ground To Honor Military
By A.J. Panian TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, February 1, 2010 Terry Ronzio II calls them his "war paths."

They're roughly 5,000 miles of Western Pennsylvania roads Ronzio has walked along with an American flag in hand.

Since late 2006, Ronzio has hoisted Old Glory while hiking along Route 40 and Route 119. While sweating under the summer sun or shivering through the winds of winter, he's steadily racked up all those miles in recognition of the sacrifices of the country's military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"People pass me in their cars and stop to ask why I'm doing what I'm doing. I never mind telling them," said Ronzio, 46, of Holbrook in Greene County. "I walk these roads and to honor the sacrifices of our warriors of today."

Ronzio set out with a flag at dawn one recent Monday along Route 119 south from The Natural Way, the Connellsville business owned by his mother, Lillian Ronzio, that serves as his "mission headquarters."

"In the 18th century, parts of Route 119 were the path that the Iroquois tribe used to travel south to do battle with the Catawba and Cherokee (tribes)," Ronzio said.

The Catawba Trail, or the path that Route 119 was built near, was blazed by all 11 Great Lakes tribe nations, said MaryEllen Snyder, chief of visitor services at Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Fayette County.

"I feel like I've really inherited all those paths," Ronzio said.

Each time he completes a 500-mile leg of his ongoing journey, Ronzio donates the flag he's carried over that distance to military veterans or units with soldiers who served or are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"I've given away 10 so far," he said.

In September, Ronzio presented a weathered flag to Staff Sgt. Mark Hamilton, a firearms instructor with the 171st Security Force Squadron of the Air Force National Guard, at the Irwin War Memorial.

The red stripes and blue field of the flag Ronzio gave Hamilton, who served two tours as a military policeman in 2003-04 at the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, were bleached by weeks of constant sunlight.

Hamilton marveled at Ronzio's worn-down hiking boots.

"I was very impressed with Terry; he's a very passionate and a very patriotic guy," said Hamilton, 26, of North Huntingdon, who is having Ronzio's flag framed for hanging inside a new security forces squadron facility at his Coraopolis base.

In late December, Ronzio wore through his 22nd pair of hiking boots to pass the 5,000-mile mark.

Ronzio donated other flags to the National Guard posts in Connellsville, Ebensburg in Cambria County and Waynesburg in Greene County.

He finished the year by presenting a flag signifying his most recent milestone to the Cumberland American Legion Post 400 in Carmichaels in Greene County.

"Terry had a really nice presentation for our flag at the dedication of our new building," said Frank Kirk, the post's commander.

Ronzio said he plans to continue his journey as long as the military is deployed overseas in the fight against terrorism.

He said he can't wait to make his 11th flag donation after he logs the next 500 miles.

"Patriotism is important for all of us to have, especially now," Ronzio said.