Long Island lawmaker, Marine will walk 26 hours straight to raise awareness for veterans’ suicide: ‘We’re going to do this together’

It’s a boots-on-the-ground effort.

A Long Island lawmaker and Marine reservist plans to trek a whopping 66 miles across Suffolk County in just 26 hours to raise awareness for the country’s veterans’ suicide epidemic — and you’re invited.

“We’re losing more veterans by their own hand than when we were at war with Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia in the global war on terror over the past 20 years,” 45-year-old Chad Lennon, a Rocky Point Republican, told The Post.

“We don’t have twenty years — or two years, we don’t have two minutes.”

Lennon, who survived an IED blast while on active duty in Afghanistan 15 years ago, intends to leave at 9 a.m. Saturday from a local firehouse at the tip of the North Fork in Orient. He will walk straight to the Suffolk County government offices in Hauppauge and is hoping to arrive by 11 a.m. Sunday morning.

Once he makes it to Armed Forces Plaza, Lennon will raise a suicide awareness and remembrance flag that will accompany his walk and pay respects to Marine Cpl. Keith Anthony Miller, a Suffolk County soldier who took his own life 10 years ago.

“It’s in our communities, it’s constant. … And we have the largest population of veterans in New York here in Suffolk County,” said Lennon, a Purple Heart recipient, who emphasized that tragically 22 veterans take their own lives each day across the US.

The courageous, non-stop walk was deliberately scheduled ahead of Sept. 22 — National Military and Veterans Suicide Awareness Day.

Lennon said that for so many soldiers, the “Spartan mentality” of toughing out trauma is often an obstacle to overcome emotionally. He admitted his own struggles with accepting the concussive damage he sustained from the bomb that struck his vehicle.

“When you’re at war, that’s what you have to do,” said Lennon, who was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July.

“But there’s time to come forward to say, ‘hey, I’m having an issue,’ and that’s fine,” said the Marine.

Strength in numbers

Unlike most runs and walks for noble causes, Lennon is challenging the public to join him in a show of solidarity for those who are struggling.

“Just like we do in the military, it takes a unit to accomplish the mission,” said the Suffolk County legislator who has seen many friends and comrades take their own lives.

“Our mission now is to stop this.”

The overnight walk will be divided into several checkpoints spread out over a few miles, so people may join in small doses and show strength in numbers as Lennon crosses through each town along the way.

He recognizes that each micro break is when the agonizing burn will set in from carrying his flag pole, and that there isn’t much physical preparation that gets one ready for such a gargantuan task.

But Lennon, and a handful of other Marines he will be joined by, know what they signed up for.

“It is what it is. You’re going to be sore, you’re going to be in pain — and that’s part of it too,” he said.

“That physical pain is what some people are feeling mentally.”

Lennon most encourages citizens to meet at the final stopping point, a Dunkin’ Donuts at the intersection of routes 111 and 347 which are just two miles away from the finish line.

“Just to show a unity of, ‘hey, you’re going through pain, I’m going through pain, but we’re going to do this together,’” he urged.

And, just like civilians played roles helping US troops in wars past — from manufacturing to victory gardens — Lennon said there is a new, more literal call to action on the home front, to which everyone is obliged.

“I challenge people to call 22 people a month just to see how they’re doing,” he said. “Reach out to family and friends, military or not.

“Make sure they’re doing alright.”