Army Veteran Walking All 4 Corners Of U.S. Reaches Connecticut, Again

ENFIELD, CT —Nearly six months to the day after visiting Enfield for the first time, U.S. Army veteran Matt Dyer was back on Saturday, on day 43 of his re-booted attempt to walk to the four corners of the continental U.S.

Dyer, a resident of Windham, Maine, plans to walk to Florida, then across the southern states to California, and then northward to Washington state. The total distance is more than 5,700 miles, give or take a few detours here and there.

He initially set out on his journey on Dec. 30, reaching Connecticut on Jan. 18, and got as far as central Virginia before a family emergency caused him to return home in mid-March. He began his second effort on June 2, but opted to start at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine, at the easternmost point in the country.

"My mom had a suicide attempt on March 16, and I had to go home," he said in an exclusive interview with Patch at the Yarde Tavern in Enfield Saturday. "I flew on the next day from Appomattox, Virginia, where the Civil War surrender was signed. Instead of calling it a failure, I called it, 'I just walked to the Civil War from Maine.' This is just my second long-distance walk; I already did the first one and finished it."

Dyer's original plan was to complete his journey in July 2024, around the fifth anniversary of his father's death. An adjusted timeline now finds him with no exact schedule. His only specific goal is to walk 30 miles on his 30th birthday on Sept. 15.

His inspiration comes from several sources, including his dad's passing. His wife, Marinna, was also an Army veteran whom he lost to suicide on May 7, 2017.

He has been spending more time resting than he did initially, taking in sights such as the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, and meeting well-wishers who have been following his progress on Facebook at 2023walkusa. His amount of followers has grown incredibly since his first foray into Connecticut.

"At that time, I had roughly around 1,500 followers, and now have about 19,000," he said. "I have no deadlines for the checkpoint locations, because of the fact that I have so many people I already know waiting for me now."

Dyer carries an American flag and pulls a cart containing necessities, adorned with a sign which says, "Army vet walking across USA. Follow me on Facebook, 2023walkusa." He mainly sleeps in a tent and occasionally stays in motels, but occasionally takes up accommodations with admirers who have been tracking his quest. He has begun having people he meets sign his cart.

"This time I have more experience," he said. "I have the equipment I need, the gear I need, I was able to build a better cart which is more practical for the purpose it needs to serve. I wanted to start over because it meant more to me to go back and see everybody I made friends with all the way from Maine to Virginia than it did to not have to walk 940 miles."

One person he looks forward to seeing again is Aleco Bravo-Greenberg, owner of Soldier Fuel energy products, whom he met in March in Virginia. While unwinding Saturday at the Yarde Tavern, he sported some Soldier Fuel gear.

In January, Dyer told Patch, "I don't have a cause, I have a lot of events that have happened that have led me to want to do this. I'm challenging myself. My cause is to exercise, unplug and be in nature, test the limits of my body. To have resiliency and the mental toughness to never tap out and do something never done before. I am sharing my journey for one, to prove I did it; two, to inspire people to do something outside of your comfort zone; and three, for self-exploration."