At 92 years old, Navy veteran Ernest Andrus is still taking on adventure with the excitement of a young sailor as he hits the midway mark in his coast-to-coast run across the nation.

Andrus began his trek on Oct. 7, 2013, to raise awareness and funding to get his old vessel, the USS LST-325, seaworthy again so it can travel to Normandy for the anniversary of D-Day.

“I guess I’ve always been after adventure. It’s what drove me to join the Navy all those years ago, and it’s what really made me do this,” Andrus said, recalling his decision two years ago to begin his run. “I thought, ‘Well, I bet that would be an adventure, now wouldn’t it?’ ”

As a corpsman in the Navy, Andrus served aboard the LST-325 for the duration of World War II. During that time, he assisted in transporting troops overseas and then bringing the wounded back home.

Andrus said that estimates to get the ship seaworthy are in the millions and that while he knows that he alone cannot raise that amount, he is doing his part to raise as large a contribution as he can.

“So far I’ve gotten lots of sponsorships along my run, and those have been the biggest contributors,” he said.

At last count, Andrus said, he had gained $34,000 in sponsorships and $9,000 in donations. He plans to donate his funds at the end of his run to other donations being collected for LST-325.

He said the idea to do the run came to him after he completed his first relay run at the age of 88. Andrus said he got so much attention that he began wondering if he could do the run and let it benefit the ship at the same time. He hopes to reach his Brunswick, Ga., destination by his next birthday, on Aug. 19, 2016.

Andrus’ journey stalled shortly after it began in 2013 when he took time off after his wife died, but now he said he is slowly, but surely, making his way.

He describes his pace as more of a walk than a run, and he moves the motor home that he stays in once a month so that he has a place to stay. After running for a day, he catches a ride from fellow runners back to his car and then the next day starts back where he previously ended.

“I have run about 1,800 miles and driven about 78,000 miles, to give you an idea of how much back and forth I have to do,” he said.

Andrus will park his motor home at the Havens RV Center in Merryville after his arrival and plans to depart at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. He said he has already generated a lot of support from runners in the area and hopes to have a nice group heading out with him.

When asked about his health and how he feels running may be positively affecting it, Andrus chuckled.

“I don’t know if I would call myself healthy, but I’m certainly happy,” he said. “And I think that’s what matters.”

(Special to the American Press)