Members of Carry The Load walked through Hot Springs Wednesday morning as part of a 20,000-mile national relay to honor and remember America’s fallen soldiers and first responders.

Its goal: “To restore the true meaning of Memorial Day,” which is part of the mission of the annual Carry the Load national relay that includes five bus- and human-powered routes throughout the United States.

“About 11 years ago … they (said) ‘We got to bring the true meaning back to Memorial Day.’ They were SEAL members, they lost a lot of team members. Adam Brown is one of the team members that they lost. So they pack up, they head to West Point and from West Point they walked all the way back to Dallas … they had a 20-hour rally,” Beth Sundquist, one of the relay walkers, said.