By Alexander Rivero, Staff Writer

2020 Seton Hall University graduate Tommy Pasquale, 24, is heading from New Jersey to California—on foot. The Randolph native will be embarking on this adventure to raise much needed awareness for the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, which reports that on any given night in the US, there are up to 38,000 former members of the armed forces that have no place to call home. 

Pasquale left the Jersey shore—specifically Manasquan Beach—for Venice Beach, California in September of 2022, and plans on arriving in sunny southern California in April. At a twenty-miles-a-day clip, he feels that the goal of reaching California by April is doable, without being excessive. 

Coming along for the trip is a wheeled cart with reinforced wheels and an American flag, loaded with basic provisions and equipment—such as a sleeping bag, a tent, canned goods, fruit, protein powder, beef jerky, some toiletries, clothes, books, a daily journal. He also has a cell phone, of course, which he uses to chart and document his daily progress, and a couple of chargers. 

Although Pasquale himself never served, the armed forces have always been a great passion for him. He has veterans in his family, and amongst his closest friends, many of whom are currently active duty, and he is proud to do what he can.

“They’ve done so much for our country,” he says, by phone as he walks through Church Hill, Tennessee, “and I’m happy to be doing something to honor them.”

There is no better time for such an adventure, too.

“It’s always been lingering in the back of my mind, crossing the country on foot,” Pasquale says. “I guess the idea of doing it finally overtook my thinking to the point where I had to do it. And I said to myself, if you’re ever going to do it, now’s the time. I have no family, I’m young, strong. And it’s all for a great cause.”

What one would assume would be obvious hurdles along the way have so far proven to be opportunities to connect with strangers and make new friends. Pasquale was never much worried about this element of the trip, however. In fact, finding the deep well of generosity amongst random folks on the road is right on par with how he thought people would act towards him. 

“I’m a stranger to them, and yet they’ve treated me like family,” he says.

One experience of note was in Culpepper, Virginia. Pasquale was tired after a very long day, and he was looking for a spot to put up his tent. He happened to pass by an American Legion (Post 330), and the members there welcomed him in with open arms. 

“Those guys fed me, took care of me,” he says. “They even got the local paper to come and interview me. Then, they used their connections with campgrounds down the road, and had some other folks waiting for me the following day, which was a major help. It was at a point where I was hurting physically, and drained emotionally a little bit. They helped me out more than they know.” 

He has relied on Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) houses, American Legions, firehouses, and the generosity of regular citizens who have invited them to their homes for a hot meal, hot shower, and to spend the night on several occasions, softening the hard edges of the trip and assuring Pasquale that all would be just fine. 

More pleasant surprises followed. Chief among them is the degree to which his body has been able to recover from the steady pounding of pavement at twenty miles per day. Pasquale admits that, at first, he was in pain. But his body recuperated and adjusted to the new demands, and he seems to have physically leveled up to the challenge. 

“No question, as I’ve gotten along further, I’ve gotten steadier,” he says. “Early on, emotions were running very high, especially because I was leaving everyone I loved. But now I’ve settled into the groove, both emotionally and physically.” 

As one might expect, it gets a little lonely out on the road all alone, but Pasquale has been keeping in touch with family and friends regularly, and says he never feels he’s by himself.

As for training, Pasquale spent the entire summer of 2022 living on the beach in Manasquan. There, he says, he trained every day by walking anywhere between ten and twenty miles on the beach each day, just to make sure his body would be ready. 

Pasquale says his greatest hope for this experience is to raise $75,000 for the homeless veterans, which he sees as a reachable number. 

“But really,” he adds, “if we can get one veteran off the street, I think it will have been a success.” 

He has a Go Fund Me page for the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and any donations would go directly to that veterans group. Pasquale is active on social media. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and LinkedIn. He can be found at @tommy_walks_america.