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Man finishes quest to cut lawns for veterans in all 50 states

FILE PHOTO: An Alabama man has finished his quest to cut the lawns of veterans in all 50 states.

The grass is cut and the lawns have been mowed but the job is not done for the man who wanted to mow veterans’ lawns in all 50 states.

Now he wants others to start up their mowers and tractors and help those who need it, ABC News reported.

Rodney Smith Jr., the owner of a lawn care company in Huntsville, Alabama, left his home earlier this week to get to his final two states -- Alaska and Hawaii, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Thursday, he made it to the Hawaiian islands to finish his job, ABC News reported.

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He posted a thank you video that included some of the people he's helped, some featuring photos of their time of service in the military.

His mission started in 2015, when he saw an older man in his hometown having trouble mowing his lawn. A month later, he had mowed his 100th lawn, Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as he drove from New York to Alabama earlier this month.

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"It looked like he was struggling, so I pulled over and helped him. That's when I got my goal to mow lawns for free for the elderly, single moms and veterans," Smith told ABC News.

Then he recruited young people to help when he realized the job was too big for just one man. He started the 50 Yard Challenge, which has spread around the world.

‪I have updated the list of where we have kids doing the 50 Yard Challenge. We now have 368 kids in 6 different...

Posted by Rodney Smith Jr. on Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Eventually, he decided to make it his goal to focus on veterans.

He drove through the lower 48 states, but had the help of Atlanta-based Delta Airlines to get to Alaska and Hawaii, the AJC reported.

"I've come across so many veterans that are struggling to get their lawn mowed. If they served our country, we should step up for them," Smith told ABC News.

“This is the least we can do. This is the last thing they need to worry about,” he added.