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thedrifter
03-01-09, 07:33 AM
Ex-Marine returns to Beaufort in projected walk across America
Published Sat, Feb 28, 2009 12:00 AM
By KATE CERVE
kcerve@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5517

Twenty-six years after graduating from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Jim Hickey is visiting Beaufort to rest his tired legs and blistered feet.

The 47-year-old New Jersey man in July began his fourth attempt to walk across the country -- from the East Coast to Los Angeles -- and has been hiking across South Carolina for the past several months to raise awareness of and money for cancer research.

He arrived at the Hampton Inn in Beaufort about 6 p.m. Thursday after walking 23 miles from Yemassee, and he plans to stay until mid-week to advocate his cause. The Hampton Inn allowed him to stay in the hotel for free, and Applebee's welcomed him with a free dinner of shrimp and ribs.

Hickey began his first walk for cancer research after his father died of prostate cancer in 1995. His brother was diagnosed with the disease about six months after his father's death, and Hickey then decided to contribute to the search for a cure.

He quit his job as a bartender and headed west from Middletown, N.Y., in April 1998. After more than three years and 2,154 miles, he reached Clovis, N.M., but didn't have enough resources to continue through the desert.

He worked odd jobs -- including carnival worker, dishwasher and painter's assistant -- to pay for his food and lodging throughout the trip, but by July 2001, he had used up all his savings and had to quit.

He returned to New Jersey, where he joined the American Legion and other fraternal organizations. The retired U.S. Marine, who served four years in Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, received money from several organizations to pay for his next walk, and he left from Washington, D.C., for his second attempt in September 2001.

He made it to Denver by June 2003, but again ran out of money and support before he finished his trip. A third attempt, which began in Virginia Beach, Va., and continued as far as Hopkinsville, Ky., also was unsuccessful.

Hickey already has faced several hardships in his fourth attempt, which began in Charlotte in July. A good friend died in August, and Hickey's mother died in November. A case of walking pneumonia landed him in a Columbia hospital for a week.

He insists, however, that he will finish this trip. He is selling T-shirts in bars and to local businesses to raise money, and his nephew has agreed to meet him in Austin, Texas, and to follow Hickey by car during dangerous parts of his journey this fall.

"I can't just quit it," he said. "I can't, I won't let myself."

Hickey dedicates portions of his walk to specific children who are battling cancer and to other causes important to the people he meets during his walk.

This particular leg of his journey, from Walterboro to Savannah, is dedicated to Tony Sapp, a 17-year-old student at Colleton Preparatory Academy who is receiving treatment for a tumor growing behind one of his eyes.

Hickey learned about Tony when he stopped at Jus' Sports in Walterboro to buy a new pair of sneakers. He's using the exposure he has received during this trip to encourage people and businesses to contribute to Sapp's family.

"That's what I'm here for," he said. "Because of what I'm doing, I know I have the platform to be able to help children like that."

For information on Hickey or to donate to the causes he supports, go to cancerwalkusa.com

HICKEY: FACTS & FIGURES

Jim Hickey, 47, of New Jersey is attempting for the fourth time to walk across the United States as an advocate for cancer research.

He travels as many as 30 miles a day with a backpack that usually weighs between 50 and 55 pounds and holds:

• Copies of the more than 150 newspaper articles written about his journey.

• Photos of friends, family and the people he has met during his walk.

• Clothes, including an extra pair of shoes.

• Rain gear and a flashlight.

• A journal he uses daily to chronicle his experience and record contact information for the people he meets.

• Good-luck charms.

• The Walk Across America T-shirts he sells to promote his cause.

Ellie