Warriors on their expeditions, veterans visit Vicksburg

Last updated: September 8, 2026

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) – Vicksburg welcomed two military veterans to the city Sunday, Sept. 6, as Terry Howell and Kody Prather paddled their kayaks to city front for a stop on their expedition to navigate the length of the Mighty Mississippi River.

The two are the latest to take the challenge as part of Warrior Expeditions program to help former soldiers who battle post-traumatic stress and raise awareness for mental health issues often faced by veterans.

Warrior Expeditions is a veteran nonprofit program that helps veterans transition from their wartime experiences through long distance outdoor expeditions.

According to the organization, historically, military units could spend months marching home from war. During this journey, they would process and come to terms with their wartime experiences. But in today’s age of modern transportation military personnel can find themselves home within a few days of serving in a combat zone.

Studies indicate since 2001, over 3 million veterans have returned home from war but many of them have never transitioned from their experiences.The Department of Veteran Affairsestimates that up to 20 percent of post 9/11 veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Warrior Expeditions offers three programs to serve veterans:

• Warrior Hike, a 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail hike that crosses 14 states from Georgia to Maine and takes place during the months of March until September.

• Warrior Bike, a3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail bike ride that crosses 12 states between Washington, D.C. and Washington State and takes places during the months of May until August.

• Warrior Paddle, a 2,300 mile Mississippi River kayaking adventure that crosses 10 states from Minnesota to Louisiana and takes place during the months of June until September.

Howell and Prather began their journey on Saturday, June 27, at the source of the Mississippi River in Lake Itasca in Minnesota. The pair landed in Vicksburg on day 71 of their journey. They hope to reach the end of their journey at Burns Point Park, La. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

On hand to welcome the exhausted and visibly hot veterans was Bill Aspinal representing VFW Post 2572. He escorted the travelers to a local cabin. The VFW Post helped treat the men to a steak dinner at Beechwood Steakhouse and even helped with resupplies and washing any laundry the men needed cleaned.

Additionally, during the stay, the veteran’s were able to visit Vicksburg’s Military Park, Vicksburg’s Welcome Center and even paid a special visit to the Southern Heritage Air Museum.

Founder of the air museum, Dan Fordice was a longtime supporter of Warrior Expeditions before his tragic passing in May of this year.

Howell was born in Mobile, Ala. before he met a girl and moved to California, which he currently calls home. He served in the United States Army from 1987 until 2014. While serving he was deployed to Panama, Iraq and Afganistan.

He said this journey was important for him for a number of reasons, but his main focus was to encourage other veterans to stay active. He wants to inspire veterans to not just sit and dwell on harmful mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Prather a native of Sperry, Okla., served as a logistic Specialist in the United States Marine Corps from 2006 until 2010. While enlisted, he was deployed to Iraq.

Prather was originally set to participate in the Warrior Hike program. He was able to make it 500 miles into the hike before an Achilles’ Heel injury forced him to stop short of his mission. However, Prather didn’t give up and applied for the paddle program.

The two men both said they did not do extensive training prior to the embarkment on their journey.

“We did Zoom meetings and kind of went over what everything’s about, whats to look forward to, what stuff we need to bring, and our mindset. But you don’t really need to train.You know, your body’s gonna fit in once you get a few weeks in,” said Howell.

The men said the hardest part of the journey has been dealing with the heat and figuring out what to eat. Both claimed they had become immune to the mosquitoes.

According to the vets they spend 75 percent of their nights outside camping. However, there have been hospitable people along the route that have offered them houses to use.

Challenges of the Mississippi River Expedition

“One thing that has impacted me is the people. It started up in Minnesota, and it’s just been unbelievable. Their kindness. They give you their house. They say, ‘Here are the keys. Just help yourself.’ And then someone’s wife will have made a big meal like a soup or stew and leave it in the fridge for us. We’ve stayed in people’s cabins who we’ve never met. It’s just amazing. People really go out of their way to help us,” explained Howell.

They said there is a challenge in keeping enough water with them. Warrior Expeditions paid for supplies such as the kayaks, gear and a five gallon water bladder that the men would need.

“I’m not shy about asking people on boats for a cold drink,” said Howell. “I once told someone I’d pay them $100 for a cold Doctor Pepper.”

Prather also echoed the sentiment for a cold Doctor Pepper.

A challenge for the men has been having clean garments due to the fact the men packed so lightly.

“Most of the clothes I have I probably just need to throw in the gulf when I get there,” joked Prather.

The men said they enjoyed their steak dinner at Beechwood, especially since most of their meals consist of cold canned raviolis, SpaghettiOs, macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Prather said the two aren’t being lazy about their cooking choices it has more to do with being exhausted after a day of rowing that begins at 6:15 a.m. each morning and ends at around 7 p.m. each night.

Wildlife Encounters

Finding a shady and safe place to land each day has also offered challenges due to wildlife.

“It’s hard to find a good shady place. One day a few days ago, we saw a nice shady spot and sat there for awhile to enjoy a lunch. We started picking our stuff up and I look around and behind us is a water moccasin laying right there behind us. We left that shade pretty quickly,” said Howell.

On a another evening the men were asleep in their tents when they were awoken by the sound of a horse running outside their camp. The men later learned the animal which woke them was not a horse but a bear who decided to steal a trash bag and run from the camp.

“Another amazing site was the bald eagles. When we were up north we saw them everywhere flying above the river and the trees,” said Prather. He said the sightings of eagles has been fewer the further south the men travel.

Both men said they never get tired of watching the sunrise and sunsets on their journey.

“I still take pictures everyday,” said Howell.

“It’s just not something you get tired of seeing,” added Prather.

Both men said the journey has helped them find healing after their service.

“It’s made me look at myself. It’s kind of the reason I’m out here. And I remember someone saying, and it’s from the Bible, ‘Love thy neighbor.’ The people along the way have showed me that. I mean it is hard to live that way. It’s a challenge because I mean we all [veterans] come back from things,” said Howell.

Prather said he had the most profound moment of the trip early on.

“When we started we were at the widest part of the Mississippi, in Lake Itasca. We were in the middle. We were literally two hours row time from any shore in all directions. Then this lightening and rainstorm starts forming behind us. We just started racing toward the shore. An hour went by and we were still an hour away from the shore. The feeling was absolutely immeasurable. You still see the shore, but it just feels like it’s never getting any closer,” said Prather. “I became more religious because the lightening was pretty scary. It was challenging. So now when we see storms draw in we try to stay close to shore.”

The two men said the adventure has made them realize how simple things are taken for granted. Things such as a cold glass of water, air conditioning and family are things they’ve missed.

“Being out here and doing this, it brings things up that you take for granted. And it’s from going out in nature and doing this for a long time. It makes you realize that you miss your family and all the good stuff,” said Prather.

“Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So if I can inspire one person to improve their life, I’d be happy,” added Howell.

The men said the journey has helped them not to focus on the long term goal. They just set small goals throughout the day.

“When you first start, you paddle for a week and then when you look at a map, you realize you barely got anywhere,” said Prather.

“Instead of setting a long crazy goal, you think, ‘Okay, just paddle for two hours, then stop and take a break.’ Things like that really help,” explained Howell.

The men said like life, every bend in the river can bring new challenges. The trick is to get yourself through them one obstacle at a time.

When the veterans arrive at the end of their journey, they plan to take a break and enjoy site seeing around New Orleans.

For more photos of Terry Howell and Kody Prather’s visit to Vicksburg see VDN’s Facebook page.