If you were driving on Interstate 80 or state Route 36 last Thursday and Friday, you may have seen a lone figure walking those roadways carrying the flag of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The solitary flag-bearer was Jason Helton, a Salt Lake resident who served nearly 21 years in the Marines and U.S. Air Force, including numerous deployments related to Operation Iraqi Freedom and other post-9/11 military operations.
While plenty of commuters Thursday night likely got a glimpse of Helton and his flag, he said the journey was an intimate endeavor. Following his service in the military, he has faced some problems adjusting to civilian life, including a battle with depression. He used the hike to work toward healing.
“It was just personal,” Helton said.
For him, the decision to walk from Salt Lake into Tooele County, with an eventual destination of Wendover, was fairly spur of the moment. He said his manager at a Salt Lake-area car dealership allowed him to take the time off work to go on his personal journey.
Helton said that leaving without much foresight, with only a bottle of water and some trail mix, was intended to mirror the deployment of the U.S. military into engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“I left on kind of a random day, unprepared, like they did,” he said.
With his trip taking him down the shoulder of I-80, Helton said a UHP trooper did stop to ask that he cease the hike toward Wendover at sunset Thursday night for his safety. Helton said he made it to around mile marker 70 on the interstate before his fiancée, Mone Wardle, drove out to pick him up.
After some rest, Helton set out again on Friday after the sun had risen. He continued to head west, reaching the Bonneville Salt Flats before he deemed his journey was complete.
Helton said his battle with depression became especially bad last September and October, culminating in a hospitalization. He said the Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake, including its emergency services and mental health clinics, have been helpful in his recovery.
Helton also credited Wardle’s support as necessary to his transition to the civilian world. The couple was engaged at a Marine Corps ball last November.
“She’s just been incredibly supportive,” he said. “She really kind of pulled things together for me.”
After leaving the military, Helton said he spent some time in Colorado working as a photographer. While he described his time as a photographer as successful, Helton said he sought more structure in his life after moving to Salt Lake.
Helton is taking classes online through the University of Phoenix toward his MBA, but plans to transfer his credits and graduate from the University of Utah. He said he took the job at the car dealership to keep him busy and get some extra spending money.
While he was carrying the Marine Corps flag on his hike, Helton said he wanted to remember all of the U.S. and coalition casualties from the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Helton said he’d recommend a similarly challenging hike, though not along a major freeway, for anyone going through personal difficulties. He hopes the two-day hike helps him work through his challenges and allows him to move ahead.
“I just needed to … make a big, bold statement to get it out of my system once and for all, without forgetting,” Helton said.