Since June, Nguyen has been traversing the country on foot, carrying a U.S. flag and a sign on his back proclaiming the walk's mission.

“I'm doing this to thank America and honor the troops who protect her,” he said.

Nguyen is the son of a Vietnamese mother and former U.S. serviceman who is currently living in Fort Worth when not working on his doctorate in psychology from Walden University in Minnesota.

His love of country runs deep.

“I always wished I could do something to show my appreciation of America,” Nguyen said. “One day I decided I would walk across the country.”

For a year and a half after that decision, Nguyen saved his money to buy a support vehicle — a 2003 Ford Focus driven by his colleague, David Dominguez — before starting his cross-country trek June 10 in Florida.

“The weather has been the biggest challenge so far, especially the heat,” Nguyen said. “But right now, I'm facing a different challenge and that's the wind. Plus, there's so little shade out here.”

As bad as the weather has been, however, Nguyen has found the people of this area to be a nice surprise.

“The people of West Texas are very kind,” he said. “They're the opposite of the landscape. The landscape is hard and thorny, but the people are kind.”

Another lesson Nguyen learned is that sandals and flip-flops were not appropriate footwear for a cross-country walk.

“By the time I reached Fort Worth, my podiatrist ordered me off my feet for two weeks,” he said.

After the doctor-ordered rest — and with more appropriate shoes — Nguyen took off from Fort Worth on Aug. 9 for the second half of his trek. On good days, he said he covers between 24 and 30 miles a day before camping out at night.

He hopes to complete his walk around Thanksgiving in San Diego, Calif.

“I would like to salute all the troops and their families who live in Howard County (and the surrounding area),” Nguyen said. “This walk is hard, but compared to their sacrifice, it's nothing and this walk is dedicated to them.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it