Just ahead of the biggest rivalry in Alabama football, the university of Alabama and auburn university came together for the 5th year in a row for their Annual operation iron ruck.
This year was especially important for veterans with auburn university as they lost one of their own to veteran suicide last year. Each year the away team travels to the home teams’ stadium carrying 22lb ruck sacks on their back filled with donations. Suicide awareness is especially important for the military because the suicide rate is extremely high, with an average of 22 veterans taking their own life every single day. This year means even more to the veterans in Auburn after loosing one of their own, Joshua Marshall, to suicide just weeks after he participated in Iron Ruck in 2021. Josh’s younger brother picked up the torch although he is a Troy University student.