W. Va. Veteran On Special Mission Across North America
BEN AVON (KDKA) -- The white jeep draws attention on its journey through North America.
Eight-year Army veteran Lisa Groves is on a mission. KDKA caught up with her at her sister's house in Ben Avon.
"This is my second mission," she says. "Dec. 2, 2013, I got out and did all 48 states."
Not to mention Canada and Mexico.
This time, she's added Alaska, collecting veterans' signatures on the sides and hood of her Jeep.
She says she shares necessities "for those veterans left behind."
"That includes family members and Armed Forces, too," she said. "Giving out clothing, non-perishable food items, baby diapers."
Formerly homeless, the West Virginia native understands the plight of the unemployed veteran.
"I've had several say, "I'm getting off the street. I'm going into a shelter, because if you can do this for me, it's time to change,'" Groves said.
A woman in Oregon saw the name of her long-lost husband, a Vietnam vet living on the street.
"She had put her life on hold, waiting for him all these years, that he would come back one day. And I was able to put them back together," said Groves.
Navy veteran Megan Patraca saw the jeep, and stopped to add her name to a list that keeps on growing.
"This is not a sacrifice," Groves says. "I'm out here for those who sacrificed."
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