It's been a little more than a month since the last U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq, but the suffering remains for the families of the roughly 4,500 American service members who died since the war began in 2003. As our Matt Hunter reports, one man is honoring each of those soldiers on a cross country journey, one step at a time.

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GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – Since May 1st, each day for Mike Ehredt has been mostly like the last. He gets up, laces up his running shoes and heads exactly 30 miles east, only the scenery changes.

"It's like being in a really slow car,” Ehredt said. “Really slow."

A retired postal worker and Army veteran, the Idaho resident is more than 4,000 miles into a 4,514-mile cross country jog that began in Astoria, Oregon.

What's unique about this trip is that every mile along the way, Ehredt places a small American flag in the ground, pauses to salute it and then keeps going.

"I knew I wanted to cross the country at one point in my life and I wanted to do it on foot,” Ehredt said. “If I was to do it for my own selfish reasons, I probably would've stopped in Nebraska and said I'd seen enough."

Attached to each flag is the name, rank, age and hometown of a U.S. service member killed in Iraq, one for each of the men and women killed since the fighting began in 2003.

"It's about the name on the flag and just giving them a mile of the country,” Ehredt said. “Just sharing that with them and thanking them for their service in a unique way."

Since the start, Ehredt's followers have been tracking his progress at www.projectamericarun.com.

On Wednesday, he began the morning in Ballston Spa, before heading east on Route 50 and then north on Route 9, where he crossed the Hudson River into Glens Falls, before ending his day with a large greeting from veterans and their families.

"I think it's a great thing he's doing,” said Greenwich resident Betty Farndell, who’s son served in Iraq. “He's speaking for the ones who can't speak for us, the ones that lost their lives."

"When you read about stories like this and know that somebody just actually jogged 4,514 miles to show their honor, the least we can come out and do is show our honor to them for taking the time to do it," Glens Falls resident Jean Dickinson.

Ehredt's journey wraps up in two weeks in Maine. By then, he hopes to have raised $200,000 for disabled veterans and to have said “Thank you” 4,514 times.

"Who I am and where I am and what I have is because of the sacrifices of our military from all generations and I think that should always be remembered," Ehredt said.