BEND — Two retired Marines are walking from Boston to the Oregon Coast to raise awareness for American military members determined missing and killed in action.

Coleman “Rocky” Kinzer, 45, and Justin “JD” Lehew, 52, began their journey along America’s longest road, U.S. Highway 20, on June 6, and they arrived in Bend on Thursday, Dec. 1.

They have roughly 175 miles left to their final destination in Newport.

With most of their journey behind them, they don’t care much about their tired legs, the 40-pound packs on their backs or the wind, rain and snow they’ve had to endure. As Kinzer and Lehew made their way toward Bend on Thursday afternoon, their minds were on the missing or killed in action who ought not be forgotten, Lehew said.

The bottom line: Kinzer and Lehew want to make sure no American military member is forgotten.

“A lot of people will think, ‘Well, why would we care about the dead?’ It’s not just caring about the dead. It’s caring about Americans,” Kinzer said.

Kinzer and Lehew each have a significant other waiting for them at home. Lehew lives in Virginia, and Kinzer lives in Hawaii. Lehew, who served in the first Gulf War and in multiple tours in Iraq, has a daughter and a grandchild, and Kinzer, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has a dog he’s keen to check in on.

By the time they reach Newport, the two veterans will have traveled around 3,365 miles through 12 states.

“We picked the longest highway for a reason,” Lehew said.

While their journey is an awareness campaign for Americans missing or killed in action and their families, their walk together on Highway 20 is symbolic for other reasons. It’s been roughly 20 years since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this walk is a reminder that you don’t have to do things — especially difficult things — alone, Lehew said.

“I found out in 12 states that this is something everyone can get behind. Every single person,” Lehew said, “It’s such a righteous cause that doesn’t have political affiliations. It’s very rare in America to find that.”

Dick Tobiason, a local retired Vietnam War pilot and a Purple Heart recipient, is organizing a sendoff for Kinzer and Lehew as they depart from Bend on Sunday.

The public is welcome to attend the event, Tobiason said. They will gather at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Three Sisters Scenic Viewpoint near milepost 9 on Highway 20. Twenty-dollar donations for Kinzer and Lehew’s cause are encouraged, Tobiason said.

Tobiason, the chairman of the local nonprofit the Bend Heroes Foundation, said there are around 112 MIA/KIA veterans from the Bend area. Sixteen of them were declared missing in action, Tobiason said. And of those declared missing two men’s bodies, Norvin Brockett, a Korean War veteran, and Charlie Miller, a Worlld War II veteran, were brought home, Tobiason said.

He has been closely following Kinzer and Lehew’s journey across the country as they have a common mission — honoring American veterans and their families.

“They will not be forgotten,” Tobiason said.