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Ric Ryan Walks with Operation Mend at 2014 Veteran's Day Parade | UCLA Operation Mend

501 views · Published 25 November 2014 · 3:50 · Indexed 22 October 2026

Channel: UCLA Health · 2014 · Science & Technology

Ric Ryan began with a quest: to walk every day in the hope of escaping his demons from combat in Vietnam. Then he added a twist. Each time someone waved to him as he passed, he would respond with a wave, and donate 25 cents from his disability checks to Operation Mend, UCLA's program to provide medical services to soldiers disfigured by war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The people in the rural California town of Murphys, where Ryan and his wife live, took notice, and soon they began to open their own wallets. What began as a trickle of donations became a flood, and in three years Ryan raised more than $48,000 in contributions - while donating another $19,000 himself.

Now the 68-year-old Marine Corps vet known as the Walking Man of Murphy took another walk, this time in New York City on November 11, with the UCLA Operation Mend team in the America's Parade, which is the oldest and largest event in the United States honoring the men and women who have defended the country's freedoms.

Learn more about UCLA Operation Mend at http://operationmend.ucla.edu

Ric Ryan Walks with Operation Mend at 2014 Veteran's Day Parade | UCLA Operation Mend

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