93-year-old Second World War veteran completes trek across the U.S.

Congrats to 93yr old #ErnieAndrus who ran across America to raise $$ for the #LST325 @johncwilliamscc @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/DzBXI7dUfU

— @wwwabcShirtsbiz (@abcShirtsbiz) August 22, 2016

Ernest “Ernie” Andrus, a 93-year-old veteran of the Second World War, completed a run that was three years in the works on Aug. 20. Andrus completed the California to Georgia run one day after his 93rd birthday. He started the run on Oct. 7, 2013.

Andrus averaged between a half-marathon and marathon per week throughout his 4,200-kilometre journey. He reached Brunswick, Ga. on the Atlantic Ocean becoming the oldest person to complete the cross-country Pacific to Atlantic run. He started in San Diego.

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The 93-year-old did the cross-United States run to raise money to restore and return a Second World War-era ship back to Normandy, France from its current docking in Indiana, according to the Associated Press. Andrus hopes the ship will be returned in 2019, the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing. He was a medic in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War.

Congrats to WWII Veteran Ernie Andrus for his amazing accomplishment. We ❤️ your spirit https://t.co/pwujUHicIX ??? pic.twitter.com/WXz4N4GMwy

— Texas VLB (@TexasVLB) August 21, 2016

“Mission accomplished,” Andrus wrote on his Facebook page. “Last Saturday [Aug. 20] I reached the Atlantic on Saint Simons Island, Ga. Fanfare was enormous. Family and friends from all across the country were here for the finish. I don’t have an accurate count. It looks like runners and greeters combined must have been more than a thousand. A whole string of escorts. A band playing. A fly over.”

Video of Andrus finishing the historic run

The stats for the run include running 2,631 miles [4,200K] in 999 hours. He averaged 18.4 miles (29K) per week. Andrus posted daily updates on his Facebook page for local runners to join him on portions of his daily runs.

92 year old WWII vet Ernie Andrus talks about the reason for his 2500 mile charity run across the US and memories o… pic.twitter.com/bHq302d3Hp

— Jolq Benavides (@JolqBenavides) August 21, 2016

Andrus has spent US$170,201 on the trip including a tow car and a RV, according to his website. He has received more than US$48,000 in sponsor money and an additional US$16,625 in donations towards the Second World War ship.