BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – Ahead of Veterans Day, one Searsport man is sharing his story of hope.
Wes Smith is a U.S. Army veteran who had a long road ahead of him when his time in the service was over.
His journey started with one small step, and now, he’s off and running.
Smith was a high school senior on 9/11. He joined the Army after graduation and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
“I went in after 9/11,” said Smith. “Every day we’re rolling out the gate on patrol. We’re out there 10, 12 hours a day. We’d set two gun trucks up in the north, two in the south.”
After returning to Maine, he had a brief stint in the National Guard.
“Then after that, I was just a full blown civilian from there,” said Smith.
That’s when the combat veteran faced a new battle.
“Ah, the adjustment for me was pretty rough,” Smith explained. “The first few months went okay. I was up at UMaine, everything seemed to be going alright. And then, my old unit, they started to redeploy, and I got super guilty that I wasn’t going back with the troops. So, that really hit me hard. I threw a ton of weight on. I gained about 100 pounds that first year.”
Smith’s mental and physical struggles continued for the better part of two decades.
But finally, after consulting with his VA doctor, he opted for gastric bypass surgery last year.
“You got to really commit to this. Gastric bypass is just a tool, and you got to really put the work in to actually get the weight off,” said Smith.
Smith follows a strict nutrition plan, which includes no soda or alcohol.
Physical activity is the other piece of the puzzle.
He was done running from his problems and ready to step foot in a different direction.
“Right when I was getting ready to go in for my surgery, a coworker had mentioned that Travis Mills had a 5K, the Miles for Mills event for Memorial Day last year. It was a couple months after my surgery. I was like, ‘Eh, I’ll sign up. I’ll try it.’ And I did it, and it took me almost 50 minutes to do it. I walked the first mile or so, and then, after a little bit I got thinking, ‘Geez, you know, I think I could maybe run to that telephone pole.’ And so, I would do every other telephone pole from there, and eventually I was able to work my way up to actually running marathons and ultra marathons,” Smith said.
Over the past year and a half, Smith has completed races ranging from 5Ks to 50 miles while losing more than half his body weight.
“It’s amazing to move around again,” said Smith.
And it’s only up from here. He has his sights set on an eventual 100-miler.
“For a number of years I was a quitter. After I got out of the service, I quit and sabotaged myself all the time. And I’m just so glad I don’t do that anymore. I just push through and just complete all the tasks ahead of me now,” said Smith.
For other veterans who might find themselves struggling, Smith hopes his story can show at least one path out of the darkness.
“Put yourself around good people, good support system, friends, family. And get out and run, for sure. Running, you kind of get a little bit of the adrenaline, the dopamine. Do something active, move around. Yeah, that’s what I’d suggest,” said Smith.
For everything Wes has lost, he’s regained much more – confidence, his health, and not to mention more than a few medals.
His family, friends, and former self are all so proud.
“We did it. I don’t know how else to say it,” said Smith.
Wes’ next race is the Veterans’ Remembrance 4 Miler Sunday in Ellsworth.
If you’d like to follow along on the rest of his journey, you can find him on Instagram.
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