If you see soldiers in canoes Saturday floating down the Maumee River, don’t panic. It’s not an invasion, but rather a war on trash.
They are recruits with the Indiana Army National Guard, performing a community service project under the direction of Staff Sgt. David Grimm of Detachment 1, Company A of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion.
The soldiers have not yet gone on to basic combat training, or “boot camp,” but are still looking to serve their community. And this weekend, that’s cleaning up the Maumee River in an effort to help out the non-profit organization, Save the Maumee.
Using canoes from Fort Wayne Outfitters and other organizations, the soldiers will float down the river from Fort Wayne Outfitters, near Wells Street in downtown Fort Wayne, and heading east toward Kreiger Park, Grimm said.
Along the way, they’ll pick up trash and clean up what they can, he said.
Every three months or so, Grimm takes his soldiers out to perform a “green” community service project such as ripping out invasive shrubberies at Allen County’s Fox Island Park.
“We just feel that the community does so much for us, and it’s kind of like our small little token to give back,” Grimm said.
In his opinion, Fort Wayne is one of the most military-friendly communities in the country and it is important for the soldiers to contribute to it, he said.
“They’ve done so much for us, and we’re trying to help in every little way we can,” he said.
