PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — This Saturday, silkies will return, after nearly a decade, for a morning of physical training for a hike to benefit two service organizations.

Silkies are short shorts that are lightweight and used to be the standard outfit for U.S. Marines when they did PT. While they were phased out a while ago, they are still both beloved and mocked by veterans.

And this weekend, they will make their return to the River City for the Silkies Hike, conducted by the Resilience Project and the Freedom Paws Service Dogs Foundation.

Brenda Olson, Freedom Paws vice president, and Dr. Ben Deig, from the Resilience Project, stopped by WMBD This Morning to explain more about the hike and what happens afterwards.

The hike is a gathering of veterans and community members to honor service, build camaraderie, and raise awareness for veteran physical and mental health.

It begins at 4:30 p.m., Sept 13, at Pour BROS. Craft Taproom and will take a 3-mile loop around the town with a few stops to honor some fallen service members, and winds up back at Pour BROS., 4450 N. Prospect Road in Peoria Heights.

Participants hike in their silkies shorts, carrying flags and packs, while sharing stories and reconnecting with fellow service members.

“We’re partnering up with the Freedom Paws Organization to have a great post-hike event,” Deig said.

Olson is passionate about the Freedom Paws role in veterans’ lives. Dogs, he said, offer so much to veterans and to others.

“These dogs do so many amazing things for their person, they help them be able to get out more, and to do more things, such as work out, and go to stores, and feel more comfortable in the community again,” she said.