PICAYUNE — Troy Yocum, the man who is walking 7,000 miles across the country to raise money to help military families, passed through Picayune Tuesday morning and was greeted by city officials, county officials, emergency officials, veterans, and the general public.

The event started at the National Guard Armory on U.S. Highway 11 and headed to the Historic City Hall on Goodyear Boulevard. Participants included the Picayune and county volunteer fire departments, Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, Bill Beech and his classic military vehicles, Special Boat Team 22 from Stennis Space Center, Picayune High School’s NJROTC and drum line, and some folks from the general public, among others. Municipal Court Clerk Lisa Albritton sang the National Anthem during a ceremony at the Historic City Hall, District IV Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith sang “God Bless America” and Mayor Ed Pinero Jr. presented Yocum with a resolution and key to the city.

Some members of the public also lined the streets in small pockets to welcome Yocum to town and wave American flags to spur him on.

Yocum, who began his walk last April, said it’s been a long time in his past 11 months of hiking since he was greeted with such enthusiasm.

The idea for the hike began while he was stationed in Kuwait and he received an e-mail from a friend who finished his tour of duty and went back to work in the private sector, but fell on hard times when he got laid off. Yocum said his friend couldn’t find work and the bills began to pile up so he decided to fight through the red tape to help his friend and put on a music benefit in Kuwait which was able to raise enough money for his friend to catch up on his bills.

“By helping him, it actually helped me realize a bigger dream,” Yocum said.

That endeavor prompted him to continue to raise money for veterans after he finished his military service. Now, he hikes across the country to help military personnel and their families. So far he has logged in more than 28 million steps, he said.

“I think the most important step taken was the first step,” Yocum said.

Recently veterans have faced tough financial situations in addition to post traumatic stress disorder and a poor economy, which have all combined to create an environment where the veteran suicide rate is so bad that it has broken records over the past three years, Yocum said.

Yocum is not alone in his adventure. His wife, Mareike, whom he married only 256 miles into the hike last year, and their two dogs are also along for the hike. Yocum said his wife has been instrumental to his success.

“I could not do this hike across America without her,” Yocum said.

Not only does the money raised by the hike help families who are facing financial difficulty, but also goes to Wish Upon A Hero. Yocum said the money he has raised has helped 32 families, 13 of which had a wish filled by Wish Upon A Hero. One of those wishes was recently granted to the son of a fallen soldier, whose wish was to go into space to get closer to heaven to be closer to his father. Yocum said last week that wish was granted when the boy was sent to space camp.

“The look on his face was priceless,” Yocum said.

In the past 11 months and two weeks of hiking, Yocum said he has worn out about seven pairs of shoes. He said he probably wore those shoes a bit longer than he should have. He still has another five and a half months and about 2,000 miles left in his trip.

Not every city has rolled out the red carpet for Yocum. He said there have been cities he has passed through that barely acknowledged his presence or his efforts. He attributed the large response from the people of Picayune to the effort of Jennifer Staten to spread the word and to the work of people such as Deputy Police Chief David Ervin and Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith to gather the participation.

Yocum said 100 percent of the money he collects goes to the charities. Any expenses he incurs in his hike are covered by his sponsors, Louisville Slugger and the Major League Baseball Association.

His goal is to raise $5 million, and while he knows his goal may be a bit lofty for his first attempt, he said he will keep working until he reaches that goal.

Yocum also is using the hike as a way to petition the government to establish a National Day for Deployed Soldiers, which will allow free or reduced postage for families sending care packages to  soldiers overseas. He has six such petitions, which are actually Louisville Slugger bats. At every stop he asks mayors and governors in each city and state to put their signature on a bat. Mayor Ed Pinero Jr. signed one of those bats at Tuesday’s event.

Yocum said he also plans to visit Washington, D.C., to speak with first lady Michelle Obama about her plans to ensure every veteran has a home.

The hike can be dangerous. Several people have died in accidents from walking or biking along the side of the road in this county in the past year. Yocum said so far he has almost been hit by cars about a dozen times, and one time he had to jump a metal guardrail to avoid being hit just before that car collided with the guardrail, he said.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, Ervin thanked all who participated. Interim City Manager Jim Luke said he would like to thank the Picayune School District for lending the high school band, NJROTC and the use of a school bus to transport residents who marched with Yocum back to their vehicles at the armory.