Ex-NFL star walks toward Yuma

A former National Football League player walking across America to raise money for ground zero rescue and recovery workers sickened in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is getting close to Yuma, but he still has several miles ahead of him.

George Martin, who started off his 3,200-mile fundraising walk across the country at the George Washington Bridge in New York City nine months ago, said Tuesday that he expects to make it Yuma on Thursday morning.

Martin, who spent his entire pro career with the New York Giants, left Tacna on Tuesday and was walking the 16 miles to Wellton along U.S. 280 and Avenue 45E.

"The heat is not too bad. We can work around the heat," Martin said during a cell phone interview. "It sure beats the Oklahoma cold."

Now on the last leg of his trip, the ex-football great said he plans to start from Exit 21 on Interstate 8 today and walk to 32nd Street and North Frontage Road in the Foothills, a distance of about 12.3 miles.

Then on Thursday he will start again at Avenue 3E and Gila Ridge Road and walk to the Gateway Park beneath the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, where he will be met by Yuma-area law enforcement and firefighters, who will escort him across the state line into California.

Martin said he is walking across the country to raise money toward health care for the surviving rescue and recovery workers who rushed to ground zero after the Sept. 11 attacks.

He said many of them are sick with respiratory and other diseases that can cause permanent disability. Some have even lost their jobs and had no insurance, according to his Web site.

About 2,800 miles into his trip, which will eventually end in San Diego, Martin said that he has gone through 25 pairs of shoes and has only had a few blisters."I have seen this nation up close and personal," Martin said. "Seeing it and being able to reach out and touch it is the best way to experience it."

Martin said he has raised $4 million in goods and services so far on his journey. In addition to what he raises, participating hospitals and medical care partners will match dollar-for-dollar in medical care, essentially doubling the amount of care the workers receive. "I feel like we have accomplished something significant in this process," Martin said. Check out Martin's Web site for more information.

Although he has been to every state in the country before, Martin, who has been staging his walk through the area here in Yuma, said this was his first time to the city.

Typically walking about 20 to 30 miles a day, Martin said he has taken in a lot of picturesque Arizona scenery along the way.

"It has its own unique beauty," he said. "I especially love the mountain peaks set against the sky."

---

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.

FOLLOW GEORGE
Go to http://www.ajourneyfor911.info/AZ.html to check George's progress. The site includes a current GPS report on Martin's position.