Former Army paratrooper Perry Steed with his 2013 BMW R 1200 GS on the Ride for Light. Steed departed Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 20 and returned home August 14.

In his intro video on the Ride for Light Facebook page, former Army paratrooper Perry Steed says there has been something he has been unable to do for the last 10 years ? an obstacle he hasn?t overcome.

?That obstacle has been going to collect one of my very best friend?s ashes,? he says with solemnity in his voice.

On April 24, 2012, Sgt. Kristopher Cool took his own life. Steed says he has known several people who died by suicide both before and since Cool, but his friend?s death has been ?the worst one for so many reasons.?

I can relate to Steed?s struggles. I?ve never been any good with death, whether it was from old age, a tragic accident, or suicide. But it?s a little harder in the case of suicide because of the conflicting feelings for those left behind. In 2014, a good friend of mine who was a veteran took his own life, and I still get choked up thinking about the pain he must?ve been feeling and the times we haven?t been able to share since.
Steed with Sgt. Kristopher Cool?s father, Mike Cool (left), and uncle Paul Cool (right).

According to the website for Steed?s nonprofit, Operation: Purpose, veterans are 50% more likely to die from suicide than those who haven?t served, and what started as a mission to retrieve his friend?s ashes in Minnesota and take them to Fort Bragg to sprea...