Minnesota veteran paddles entire Mississippi to Stop Soldier Suicide

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota veteran made an extraordinary canoe trip down the entire length of the Mississippi River, hoping to save the lives of his fellow military members.

FOX 9 tracked the journey from Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico.

Frank Lachinski and friends passed through the Twin Cities on the first leg last summer and finished the trip this month.

A long journey

In all, it took 94 days and more than a million strokes.

But the most important number is $80,000 raised for the nonprofit Stop Soldier Suicide.

The sound of an oar swishing through water soothes Frank Lachinski.

But the 79-year-old Vietnam veteran knows this sense of calm is out of reach for some of his fellow veterans.

22 veteran suicides per day

The VA estimates 22 of them died by suicide every day.

"These are my comrades that are killing themselves," Lachinski said. "And so I decided I'm going to do something about it."

He hatched a plan to paddle the entire Mississippi River to raise money and awareness.

Single-minded and solo

He was so single-minded in his effort that over the course of some 2200 miles, he barely even took in the sights.

"I only had one thing in my mind and that was finish the trip," he said.

Frank spent a lot of time alone, but he had some help along the way, like when Itasca County Sheriff Joe Dasovich paddled with him through Crow Wing County.

He often slept in a tent, but also had strangers offer up food and a warm bed.

And his daughter spent eight days with him.

"I definitely have a new respect for the river," said Nicole Maves. "Absolutely."

Capsized canoe

Their journey together included some excitement when they capsized in Missouri.

She swam to shore, and rescuers found Frank more than a mile downstream, still hanging onto the canoe.

"The only thing we lost was a roll of toilet paper," Lachinski said.

What makes the trip worth it

Todd Bakke joined him for the final stretch as they reached the Gulf of Mexico, hoping 2200 miles can help reduce 22 deaths.

"He doesn't care who they are or where they come from or what branch they are," Bakke said. "And he just wants them to know that there's help out there. There's a solution."

"It's going to save some lives," Lachinski said. "If it saves one life, the whole thing was worth it."