10th Annual Mt. Vernon to Marietta, 160-Mile Veterans and First Responders Paddle

The 10th Annual Paddle for Heroes, Mt. Vernon, Ohio to Marietta, Ohio 160-Mile – 2026 Memorial Paddle, will be dedicated in honor of:

1st Lieutenant Charles L. Wilkins & PFC Ryan A. Martin.

—Both killed in action on August 20, 2004, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On August 20th, 2004, with temperatures rising above 95 degrees, soldiers of A Company, 216th Engineer Battalion, from Chillicothe, Ohio, were concluding a long day of route-clearance operations. Operating in the notoriously dangerous region of Samarra—often referred to as “the hot entry point to Fallujah”—their mission was abruptly cut short. A sudden blast struck the convoy’s lead Humvee, claiming the lives of two dedicated soldiers: 1LT Charles Wilkins and PFC Ryan Martin.