A North Carolina college student is on a cross-country skateboarding effort in honor of his father who was killed in Afghanistan.

Shayne Carlson, 21, left Virginia Beach, Va., May 22. He and his three friends plan to skateboard more than 3,000 miles across the country to raise money for injured military service members.

"There [are] no other people that I would want to give back more to than the people that put their lives on the line," he said.

Carlson also sees the trip as a chance to live up to the example his father left him. William "Chief" Carlson was killed in 2003 while serving as a CIA contractor.

Carlson and his team will travel from town-to-town alongside Interstate 10, stopping at military bases along the way.

The skateboarders hope to reach Venice, Calf., by the end of July. If they succeed, they will be the first to finish. Six others have attempted the feat.

Carlson estimates they will go through at least eight longboards, 36 wheels and several pairs of shoes.

AT&T has donated Apple iPhones to the team so they can update family and friends throughout the trip.