Troy Joseph Yocum

Troy Joseph Yocum, 42, of Mount Washington, Kentucky, passed away on Tuesday, January 4 2022, at Baptist Floyd Hospital in New Albany, Indiana. He fought a short battle with Covid-19.

He was born on June 25, 1979 in Louisville, Kentucky to Vickie Jo Leake and Ronald Lee Yocum. Troy was baptized Catholic at St. Aloysius on Payne Street in Louisville, where he also attended grade school. He graduated in 1997 from Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky where he was part of the chorus and track team.

Growing up, Troy was always an avid lover of music. He was a passionate and fantastic drum player and watching him play was truly a sight to see. Shortly after high school, Troy joined the Army. He attended boot camp at Ft. Benning, Georgia as 11B MOS. During and after his Army contract time, he became CDL licensed and was a truck driver and instructor. He also worked as an EMT, helping to save lives. In 2008, Troy was activated by the Army to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Troy's true passion surfaced after his time in Iraq. After his own personal loss and losing a close friend to PTSD and suicide, Troy's thoughts and visions unfolded in ways to try and help active military and veterans. He started out simple: Hike across America with his super pup Emmie and play a drum loudly for people to hear the cries of veterans and active military that were hurting. Troy quickly became news across America and his mission to raise awareness of the alarming numbers of suicides amongst veterans. This became known in the media as the "Hike for Heroes". Years of hard work and dedication, fueled by a fierce passion, Troy created 2 charities to help military brothers and sisters struggling with PTSD and suicide. With the help of many loyal friends, people he considered family and amazing volunteers, Troy built Active Heroes from the ground up. His ultimate goal was to create a safe place for active military and veterans to come and feel understood. A place where they could seek true physical and emotional help. His largest pride during this time was to honor his late friend, Justin Fitch, as his name appears on a cabin at the Active Heroes retreat. In 2014, for his hard work and dedication, Troy received a Congressional Medal of Honor "Citizen Honors". He was the first in the state of Kentucky to receive this prestigious award.

Troy has recently left Active Heroes and began Warrior Battalion INC. The same mission in mind as Troy has said in his own words: "To continue on helping veterans and their families is the most important mission that I have…".

Troy is survived by his mother, Vickie Jo Leake, his father, Ronald Lee Yocum, his daughter, Semone Yocum, his two sisters; and many nieces, one nephew, and many other family members.

Graveside services will take place on Friday, March 18, 2022 at 11:00 am at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff, KY.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Warrior Battalion INC to further honor Troy's mission. For more information on donations, please visit warriorbattalion.org.

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