A soldier who survived the Fort Hood massacre hit the road for an 80-mile run to the state capitol Thursday morning.
It was an emotional send-off near Fort Hood's Clear Creek gate, as others wounded that tragic day waved him off at the starting line.
CW5 Chris Royal was shot twice in his lower back, on either side of his spine on November 5, 2009, while getting ready for a deployment on Fort Hood.
He remembers it like it was yesterday.
"A lot chaos broke out, it was a lot of gunfire," said Chris.
His wife, Stephanie, is also a Fort Hood soldier and was taking part in a training exercise across post, when she got the news.
"I was reading the text message that said Chris was shot, and I was just like, oh my God," she recalls.
The couple will never forget the events of that day.
Now despite shooting pain caused by his wounds, Chris is running to the Texas capitol so that the nation doesn't forget those who are still hurting.
"I want America to see that the 32 still standing, we're going to be here, we're not going anywhere, but we do need their support," Chris said.
With every step he's showing that though the military does its part, some of the wounded need extra care with things like finances and emotional support.
Eric Jackson, a survivor who retired from the Army last year said, "To me, it means that we haven't been forgotten, that somebody is still in the fight for us, even though to some of us, it seems like we've been pushed to the side due to other things that have been going on in the country."
Eric was shot in the right arm that fateful day, but it's the emotional scars that show the most.
"When you first see people falling around you, when you hear the screams and you can't get those sounds out of your head," said Eric.
So Stephanie is proud her husband is going the extra mile for survivors like Eric.
"After everything that we've been going through, it's very inspiring to see him actually come to complete this task," she said.
"The 32 of us, we haven't had a fair shake, so until our shake comes, we're going to be doing this every year," said Chris.
So with Fort Hood behind him and Austin in front of him, the journey begins.
He'll break it up into four parts, arriving at the capitol on Monday, the 3rd anniversary of the attack.
Chris Founded the 32 Still Standing Foundation to help families in the wake of this tragedy.
Learn More or Donate
Reporter: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com
Photographer: Chris Buford cbuford@kcentv.com
