Swimmer nearing end of 6-month tribute to Gold Star families

It seemed like only yesterday that Navy vet Chris Ring jumped into the little creek known as the Mississippi River in Itasca and headed south.

Photo: Legacies Alive Facebook page.

It was June 6, and he’s been swimming most every day since as a tribute to families of soldiers who’ve died in “the war on terror.”

Over the weekend, he reached New Orleans.

Photo: Legacies Alive Facebook page.

177 days and 12 hours of swimming and he hasn’t run out of Gold Star families to meet along the way.

At the current rate, Ring will become the first American to swim the length of the Mississippi River on Thursday or Friday.