More than eight months after leaving Los Angeles on foot, Johns Hopkins Class of 2001 graduates Bill Faria and Josh Kampf walked into New York City on Tuesday, completing a cross-country trek in memory of the victims of terrorist acts. In their backpacks, the two carried 4,000 flags printed on a 20 ft. by 4 ft. bolt of fabric, which was taken to Ground Zero on Sept. 11 by a victim's support group from Pennsylvania.
Each flag serves as a memorial to a victim of a terrorist act, including last year's Sept. 11 attacks, the attack on the USS Cole, the 1998 embassy bombings and the Oklahoma City bombing.
Faria and Kampf also brought with them a small book containing notes to the victims' families written by people they met along their journey. Scrawled on the pages of the book are messages of hope and solidarity from residents of over 15 states, including one that reads, "We are one. We are with you. We love you."
The idea of walking across the country in remembrance of those who died began to materialize late last year as the two Arts and Sciences alumni watched the World Series. During a television program highlighting what others had done in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Faria, who had just finished reading a book about a man that drove from South America to Alaska, suggested a memorial hike across the country.
Less than three months later, the two were standing at the Santa Monica pier in Southern California, looking east. Faria, who had been working at a Biotech company in Colorado, and Kampf, a pitching coach for Boulder High School, had left behind their jobs and families for a goal that now lay nearly 3,500 miles away.
"I stepped out of my life," said Kampf.
Faria and Kampf left behind many comforts that both realized they had taken for granted. As they began their walk, finding food and water became a major task each day, as did finding a place to sleep. The two also faced the physical stresses of walking between 15 and 25 miles each day: aching feet, blisters and exhaustion.
Some days, waking up and continuing to walk was "the last thing [I] wanted to do," said Kampf.
Along their journey, Faria and Kampf passed through many towns and cities, where receptions varied in size from nothing to "amazing: hundreds of people, fire trucks, ambulances," said Kampf. In one town, Faria said, they were greeted by "five fire trucks, 200 people and the mayor."
Whatever the size of the groups greeting them, the two friends soon realized that the events in New York and Washington, D.C. had made a profound impact on all Americans, regardless of locale.
"Everyone felt it was an attack in their own backyard," said Kampf. "Geographic location didn't matter."
Even as they began their journey in the western states of California, Arizona and New Mexico, Faria and Kampf felt that they had noticed a change in the way that people conducted themselves since the attacks.
"People had changed initially," said Kampf. "[They] were a little more patient. [People seemed to say,] OWhat's the big rush?'"
Many even offered the two a place to spend a night.
In addition, Faria and Kampf noticed changes in themselves as they traveled.
"You can't help but be changed," said Kampf, who said he now has a better appreciation for things that are really important, especially his friends and family.
On August 23, the two friends reached the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins. Kampf, sporting a pair of Oakleys and a couple days worth of stubble, waited patiently on the wall at the Charles St. side of the Beach, his backpack resting on the ground below him.
Soon, Faria joined him, and the two began to share stories from their trip.
For Faria, one of the most memorable experiences of the journey came in the Mojave Desert, when the two had only Powerbars to eat. As he was "craving a cheeseburger," a van slowly approached, the driver holding a McDonald's bag out of the window.
"You never know what people you're going to run into or how they're going to react," said Kampf.
Though no reception awaited them at their own alma mater, Faria and Kampf were in good spirits, especially as they described interactions with the newspapers and television stations that covered their journey. Cameramen often asked them to walk backwards or in circles, and one newspaper in Flagstaff even had them take off their shoes and rub their feet.
"My foot was on the front of the newspaper," said Faria, laughing.
With less than a month to the completion of their trek, Faria and Kampf seemed optimistic about the endeavor. Although they said it was difficult to miss major events in friends' lives, including marriages and important sporting contests, Faria said "good days [on the trip] outnumbered the bad days."
He added, "We've given a lot of people a way to show their support."
In fact, they have done more than that. Through Morgan Stanley, the two also established the Journey for America Scholarship Fund, and with less than a month to go Faria estimated that they had raised tens of thousands of dollars.
"We've raised a good amount of money," said Kampf, but it's "never really enough."
For more information on the Journey for America, visit http://www.walk-for-america.org.
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