Troy Yocum (born June 25, 1979 – January 4, 2022) was a veteran of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. He hiked over seven thousand miles across America in 2010–2011 to help bring awareness to issues faced by veterans and their families.

Drum hike or Hike For Heroes

Inspired by his

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

grandfather, who took his own life, and a close military friend, who lost his home after returning from deployment, Yocum decided to make it his personal mission to help struggling veterans. Yocum began a 16-month journey, dubbed "The Drum Hike" on April 17, 2010, at the

Kentucky Derby Festival The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 t ...

Thunder Over Louisville Thunder Over Louisville is an annual airshow and fireworks display in Louisville, Kentucky, serving as the kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. It is held on a Saturday in April preceding the Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday in May, ...

celebration. Yocum bangs his drum when entering towns and cities to bring attention to his cause and carries a bat for mayors and governors to sign. Averaging 20 miles per day, the hike would take him, his wife, and two dogs over more than seven thousand miles and 37 major U.S. cities by the time they make it home. Yocum's goal is to raise five million dollars and was sponsored by nonprofit Soldiers' Angels. Due to the extreme physical activity, Yocum has suffered several different medical complications. While in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, he suffered an attack of kidney stones, which required hospitalization and in January 2011, his foot became infected and hence slowed the hike. In January 2011, Soldier's Angels pulled their support for Yocum due to concern for his health and well-being. He has raised more than $134,000 toward his cause through donations and sponsorships. Yocum soon picked up sponsorship from Active Heroes and finished the remaining 2,500 miles to the east coast and back home to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. In the final 6 months of the Hike for Heroes, Yocum raised another $1.1 million. On May 26, 2011, Yocum was welcomed to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

John Yarmuth John Allan Yarmuth ( ; born November 4, 1947) is a retired American politician and newspaper editor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2023. His district encompassed the vast majority of the Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville M ...

(D-KY) accompanied by firefighters, veterans, and a police escort. Yocum completed his 7,880 mi. walk on September 3, 2011. After the Hike ended, Yocum was awarded the 2011 Classy award and founded Active Heroes as a 501(c)(3) charity to continue to help military families in need.

Personal life

A native of

, Yocum met his wife Mareike in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He proposed marriage to her on the 100th mile of the hike, and they were married at mile 256. She walked over 4,000 miles with him during the course of the walk.

Military career

Yocum graduated in 1997 from

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England * Trin ...

and spent two years in the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

with the 151st Infantry of southern

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

World record marathon drumming attempt

In April 2009, Yocum attempted to beat the world record of 120 hours of marathon drumming set by Russ Prager in March 2009. He was supported by his unit commander and the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

. To beat the record, Yocum had to play for 120 hours in a row with only a five-minute break every hour and without repeating any songs for four hours and thirty minutes. He attempted to play 250 songs from the 1950s to modern styles. He was forced to give up on the second day of the attempt after temperatures reached more than 100 degrees.

References

External links

Drum Hike official webpage
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yocum, Troy 1979 births Living people American activists United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army soldiers Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Hikers Trinity High School (Louisville) alumni 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Drummers from Kentucky