Sitreps from the Runs for the Wall 1999

SITREP: Ontario

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SITREP: Ashfork, AZ

SITREP: GALLUP

You will all be happy to know that Ash Fork has a rooster that is related to the one in Cimarron, you know: the one that has its body clock set two hours too early! He started crowing at 4:00 instead of 6:00. It would not have been so bad but we had stayed up pretty late watching a great slide show about different Vietnam Memorials around the country accompanied by the music of our lost youth.

We had breakfast at the KOA again provided by Dick Darnell and his travelling kitchen. We had biscuits and gravy, bacon, ham and eggs and good old field strength coffee. The Scottish Veterans Association donated a dozen commerative POW-MIA coins to use for our 50/50 and we started out with those this morning.

We departed Ash Fork right on time and headed down the road to Flagstaff under clear crisp skies. Our first gas stop was in Flagstaff, no snow! We showed the locals our finely tuned refueling process and we were met with applause! We headed down the road to lunch in Holbrook, where we were met by members of the MMA who escorted us to the Winners Circle Grille where we were provided with lunch on the house.

We arrived in Gallup at 2:45 at the KOA. Gene Dolney, the owner, was on hand to meet us and provide us with campingfree of charge. The POW-MIA flag was flying proudly from the mainstaff and was also prominently displayed at the main office. The pack did an outstanding job of making camp and getting ready to roll out to Window Rock. They were ready to go in twenty minutes and we were on the road led by the Navajo Nation Riders.

Once headed to Window Rock, we were shown an incredible outpouring of support from the Navajo community. People lined the roads for the twenty mile ride from Gallup to Window Rock displaying POW-MIA flags and American Flags. The shouted, waved, and proudly displayed the Run For The Wall tee shirts they were wearing.

Upon arriving in Window Rock, we rode into the Navajo Vietnam Veterans Memorial Area. We were greeted by Navajo Nation President Begay who sang us a traditional welcome song. The Run participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial and was honored with a traditional blessing. We were served traditional Navajo tacos for dinner after which we enjoyed a leisurely ride back to Gallup.

Tonight Snake Byte Video will be showing a big screen version of last years RFTW video. It promises to be quite the event.

Joining us today was Evo Red, George Maring and several familiar faces. Tomorrow evening we are scheduled to meet up with Skipper and his run in Cimarron.

Stay tuned...more to follow!

SITREP: CIMARRON

While underway we received information from the New Mexico Department of Transportation regarding unscheduled road maintenance and we were able to avoid long traffic backups by re-routing while underway.

The run once again received excellent support from the Albuequerque Police Department Motor Unit which provided fourteen police motorcycles to guide us through the transition from Interstate 40 to Interstate 15. The motors very effectively stopped all traffic on Interstate 40 allowing us unrestricted travel through town and to Chick's Harley Davidson Dealership.

At Chick's we were welcomed by several dozen additional riders and were provided with an excellent luncheon which was sponsored by Chick's. Chick's Service Department had previously cleared its schedule to provide exclusive service to Run For The Wall. When it came time to leave Chick's the Albuequerque motors again assisted us in departing the city.

The run proceeded to a gas stop at Romeroville New Mexico where all one hundred and seventy nine motorcycles fueled in only twenty minutes. We departed Romeroville en route to our overnight destination in Cimarron.

Upon exiting the interstate we were met by a detail from the Cimarron Police Department that escorted us through twenty-two miles of back road into Cimarron. It was clear from the expediency of the escort that the people of Cimarron were anxiously awaiting our arrival,  notwithstanding the fact that we were arriving forty-five minutes early as a result of the excellent riding and fueling talents of the pack. After parading through town, we were brought to the Maverick Club Camping Facility where. After transversing an extensive dirt bike course, we were treated to a dinner provided by the town of Cimarron. The menu consisted of beef brisket, hamburgers, peach cobbler made in a cast iron skillet over an open fire, pinto beans, tortillas, lemon cake with fabulous icing and a variety of beverages. We were joined in Cimarron by Skipper, Red Light, Mudflap, Dragon Joe and Mee Ok.

The Kit Carson Inn is providing a live band tonight and there is sure to be dancing in the streets of downtown Cimarron.

Tomorrow morning we will depart at seven-thirty and proceed to the Angel Fire Memorial where a full breakfast, including omelettes, will be provided by the townspeople of Eagle's Nest and Angel Fire.

Tomorrow night's stop: Limon, Colorado. Due to technical difficulties, photographs taken by the Run's Digital Photographer,  Ms. Lee Uehara,  of Day Two and Day Three will not be available until tomorrow. Please check back then.
 
 

SITREP LIMON, COLORADO

We forgot to mention in our Cimarron Sitrep that as we departed Gallup the Freedom Flight Crew manned their hot air balloon and ascended over the mountains to salute us on our departure. For those of you who aren't familiar with Freedom Flight, they are an organization that operates three hot air balloons that bear the POW-MIA insignia covering the hot air balloon.

The run arrived in Pinon, Colorado 275 strong and under escort by the Pueblo County Sherrif's Police and a twenty motorcycle color guard from the American Legion. The Pinon stop was as impressive as always. The Run was treated to a pasta and meatball lunch with salad, ice cream bars and cases of iced water. The water was important since the weather has been cooperating and it has been sunny and in the high eighties.

The Run departed Pinon en route to Limon and traveled through Colorado Springs where Joe Lozano had arranged to have supporters line the route through the town. We arrived in Limon and were greeted by tornado warnings and storm cells. The pack successfully scrambled to make camp before the skies opened. As the run departed to Hugo for dinner the skies opened and the Run was pummeled by snowballs of slush. The dinner at Hugo was outstanding: sliced roast beef, roasted chicken and a dessert table that ran the length of the banquet hall. The tornado missed us by two miles.

We are scheduled to have breakfast sponsored by the VVMC after which we will head toward Salina, Kansas.

Marcus Marks asked us to say "hi" to all of his teachers in South Bend. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

SITREP SALINA

Breakfast was provided by the VVMC and John Bombadier. It was good stick-to- your-ribs food. We left LImon and headed East on I-70 at a speed guarenteed to outrun the lingering rain clouds.

We stopped at a new gas stop in Goodland, Kansas and it proved to be far superior to the old stop. And once again, the pack proved to have superior re-fuelling skills. Even with an enlarged pack of over 250 motorcycles, the fueling process took only 20 minutes!

A few departures in the last few days, Randy Wier left the run and headed back to San Diego as a result of problems with his leg that was injured in an accident that took place before he left California. Suzanne Sigona headed for home last night but will surely meet us at the Iwo Jima as she has for the past several years. Big Dave Richardson left in Cimarron and headed back to California due to work obligations.

We lunched at Oakley Kansas at the airfield there and watched as a bi-plane gave us a fly over. Snake-Byte video decided to take a flight and get some footage for this years film. He no doubt regretted that decision as the plane flipped over in a corn field on an unscheduled landing. Both he and the pilot emerged unscathed and he is expected to re-join the run this evening.

The weather today was excellent for riding. After we outran the storm cell, the sun came out and it was 70 degrees and clear all the way to Salina. This was really unusual considering the history of the Run in Kansas: usually 110 degrees or 45 mph crosswinds!

When the Run arrived in Salina we received a very warm welcome by the Salina POW-MIA Association at Thomas Park. Dinner was served: roasted turkey and ham, potato salad, pea salad and individual bundt cake. The Sundusters Band performed several songs for us, including the Teddy Bear song and very stirring renditions of Amazing Grace and Proud to be an American. The POW-MIA Association presented Gunny Gregory, Mudflap and Ken Lewis with teddy bears to bring to Washington DC and present at the wall. During the playing of Proud to be and American, hundreds of red, white and blue balloons were released and floated skyward.

Tomorow morning we are scheduled to be served breakfast organized by the Junction CIty HOG Chapter and the Flatlanders Chapter of the Veterans Motorcycle Club. The breakfast will be prepared and served by Service Battery, 1-5 Field Artillery Battallion of Fort Riley Kansas.

The weather for tomorrow is scheduled to be a repeat of today. Good thing since we have 375 miles to log before we reach the Wentzville VFW post.

More to follow...........

SITREP WENTZVILLE

The Run proceeded down the Kansas Turnpike to Topeka and received thecustomary treat from Abate of Kansas in that our tolls were paid for us as we went through a dedicated lane just for Run For The Wall.

The Run arrived in Wentzville and we knew we were getting close when approximately every quarter mile there was an American flag on the side of the interstate. The closer we got Wentzville the more frequent the flags appeared. When we finally were within one half mile of the exit a flag appeared on each and every reflective pole on the side of the highway. Hundreds of flags lined the route from the exit all the way to the VFW Post. Upon arrival at the VFW Post the crowds were overwhelming in their reception. They lined both sides of the road with dozens more American flags and crowds waving and cheering. We pulled into the grounds and established our campsite. There was a ceremony at the Memorial. The speaker was Retired Major Michael L. Kernan, United States Marine Corps who spoke stirringly about the plight faced by the American Servicemen. The Major presented the Run with three flags to bring to Washington for placement at the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Wall.

The meal served by the VFW Post was excellent as usual including barbecued pork steaks, fresh cole slaw, deviled eggs, potato salad and a special sheet cake for Run For The Wall. The VFW Post is also going to serve us breakfast in the morning hopefully another round of biscuits and gravy.

Our commo system has been working well. We are averaging approximately twenty-five pieces of mail call each morning and each evening, which we are passing on as soon as we download it. We apologize for the delay in uploading photographs however we have learned that not all of the country enjoys digital phone line service and without a digital line we are unable to upload photographs. Through the courtesy of the VFW in Wentzville we have now uploaded all of our backed up images and expect to be able to stay current from here on in to Washington.

SITREP CORYDON

The Run left Jefferson Barracks en route to Mt. Vernon, Illinois for a lunch and gas stop. The lunch stop was hosted by several American Legion Posts and gas was provided by the Chicago ABATE Chapter, The Chicago Hog Chapter and the Jersey Pine Cruisers. Other activities at the Mt. Vernon gas stop included an address to the Run by several members of the community and a stirring rendition of God Bless the U.S.A. Following lunch, the Run proceeded to a gas stop at Dale, Indiana again sponsored by ABATE, Hog and The Cruisers following yet another perfectly choreographed refueling. The Run blasted down the road toward Corydon, Indiana. During this phase of the Day's travel, an unusual thing happened. It seems as if the Run has hit its perfect rhythm. The Run was able to travel at highway speeds with no backlash or rubberbanding in perfect sync all the way to Corydon. This feeling was shared by all of the 235 riders as their shouts of "Oo-rah!" and "Hoo-yah!" could be heard over the roar of the engines.

We were escorted to the campground by the Harrison County Sheriff's Police and as we entered the Harrison County Fairgrounds the quarter mile driveway was lined with American flags and music was blaring from the loudspeakers. We enjoyed the traditional fish fry provided by the Milltown American Legion Post. Seconds and thirds were served all around with no leftovers to be seen at all. The Run received a proclamation from Governor O'Bannon declaring today to be Run For The Wall Day in Indiana. The Run will depart Corydon tomorrow en route to Huntington, West Virginia with a visit to the Louisville, Kentucky VA Medical Center.

SITREP HUNTINGTON

At the Medical Center, the Run was welcomed by the facilities director and director of volunteer services. We were brought up to the floors by the red coated ambassadors. We met with many patients, were served snacks and refreshments and had a great visit.
The Run departed the medical center and headed to the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Frankfort. Upon arriving there, it was clear that we had stimulated some media interest. There were several live remote trucks with broadcasting gear ready, as well as radio stations and print media. It seems that the media had been alerted to our concern over the lack of a POW-MIA flag at the memorial. We were greeted at the memorial by Mr. James Halvatges and General Les Beavers. You will recall that Mr. Halvatges is the Chairman of the Commission that oversees the memorial and it was his correspondence that referred to the POW-MIA flag as "detracting from the beauty of the American flag." He and General Beavers said a few words about veterans affairs in general and plans to help homeless veterans.

The microphone was then turned over to Deekin, who raised the issue of the lack of the flag. He called attention to the comments of one of the riders, who had said, "How can a flag that represents such sacrifice detract from the flag for which the sacrifice was made?" Neither Mr. Halvatges nor General Beavers was able to answer that question. Deekin called upon Sgt. Rock Walker to present a representative sample of the petitions that we had received calling for the Governor to implement a policy for the flag to fly on a daily basis at the memorial.

General Beavers accepted the petitions on behalf of the governor, who was unable to meet with us. Col. Ron Ray, one of the founders of the memorial, then spoke and voiced his concern about the fact that there had been a conscious decision to leave the flag out of the design after he had left the memorial commission. He promised us that he would continue the fight to fly the flag. Mr. Gatewood Galbreath then spoke. Mr. Galbreath is a candidate for the office of governor in the upcoming election. He stated that if elected, he will direct that the POW-MIA flag fly proudly at the memorial and at all state buildings. The final speaker was Gunny Gregory who recounted the origins of Run For The Wall in a very emotional address to the troops. At the conclusion of the ceremony, each rider placed a small POW-MIA flag, which had been supplied by the Run, in the ground around the memorial. So, not one, but 350 flags flew proudly in the breeze at the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Run headed for its overnight destination in Huntington, West Virgina and upon arrival was treated to a spaghetti dinner served up by Benjy of Benjys Harley Davidson. The dealership serviced sixty-two bikes overnight and got them all back to the hotel by 0600. The River Cities Hog Chapter provided a bike wash and laundry service, both of which were badly needed.

We will head into Rainelle tomorrow morning for what is expected to be a warm welcome. 

SITREP: RAINELLE

The Run headed down the road to our first stop at the Montgomery McDonalds. The plan was to stop just long enough to regroup after exiting the Interstate, but after smelling the Egg McMuffins cooking, adjustment were made to the schedule to accommodate those who were somehow hungry again! After that stop we headed for the family photo at the Glen Ferris Inn at the Falls. As soon as the photos become available, they will be posted for all to see.

As always, the ride into Rainelle was challenging. This portion of the route includes steep drop-away turns with no shoulder. There is no room for error, since gravel runs from edge to edge. As if that weren't enough, riders must negotiate with coal trucks that think they are entitled to one whole lane plus an extra half just for comfort. But the pack demonstrated exceptional riding skills and we didn't have any spills or thrills.

On arrival in Rainelle, the Run paraded through town and back to the school. The students stood outside waving flags and cheering us on. The Run then pulled onto the ballfield and formed a moving ring of 350 bikes. Students packed the bleaches to take a panoramic yearbook photo with the Run and the bikes. It promises to be a great picture. Each student then received a wristband and had his or her picture taken with participants from the Run. The kids were able to take the pictures with them, since they were taken on Polaroids. The ceremony began in mid-field with a presentation by several students on what the flag's personal meaning. Afterward, the local Cub Scout pack presented colors for the day's events. Two little girls sang a duet of the Canadian National Anthem and the American National Anthem, very appropriate as Canadian Run joined us last night in Huntington. Monica Venable, the school principal, addressed the Run and introduced Dragon Joe to the crowd. He handled the program from there with grace and aplomb. The mayor welcomed us to his fair city and announced plans in the works for a Veterans Park to be built in the city. Dragonrider (no relation to Dragon Joe) presented over $2500.00 to the school. This money was collected in the Million Penny Drive and will be used for new playground equipment.

Greasy from Kentucky to the Wall introduced Major Mark Smith, a returned POW, who thanked us all for our resolve on the POW-MIA issue. The Run presented a POW and American Flag to the school as well as a thank-you plaque. The assembly then sang Happy Birthday to SFC Mee Ok Lozano. It was a great and stirring rendition of an old favorite.

The Moose Lodge is serving dinner and the Idle Hour Lounge is doing the same. The evening promises to be full of adventure and good companionship.

We'll check in with you tomorrow

SITREP: WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Lewisburg hotel crowd left their location at 8:30 hoping to meet us underway on the highway and the regrouping worked like a charm. They had a contingent of approximately 50 bikes and instead of trying to take off from the shoulder of the road and melt into the pack, the lead bikes passed them, the main pack slowed up and we joined up just like a well rehearsed ballet. A truely impressive sight.

Upon arriving on the outskirts of Washington, a disappointing sight came into view: bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye could see. Evidently, the National Park Service Police also thought this was just too much for the Run to deal with since they came out to meet us at a much earlier point and proceeded to get us through traffic. This sounds relatively simple, however the way that the did it was unbelievable. There were six police motors who simply lined up on the centerline and pushed traffic off to the side while the Run whitelined it for the next 10 miles into the Iwo Jima. Even the four wheelers had enough room to keep up. You had to be there to really appreciate the finesse of this move. Watching more than 300 bikes roar through traffic with all of the cages pushed to the shoulder was great!

At the Iwo, there were hugs and congratulations all around. Photos were taken and groups established for the nights activities. We left the Iwo, still under escort by the Park Police and made it to the Wall just minutes later. The riders paid their respects and broke up into small groups for the ride back to the hotel and out to the campground.

The dinner that evening was at Generous Georges and it consisted of several different styles of pasta and salad. A substantial number of the riders went over to the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team exhibition at 8th and I and were impressed with the skill demonstrated by the young marines in that unit.

Saturday morning, prior to departing for Arlington, awards were made to the road crew for all of the hard work in getting the run across the country safely. Wally was presented with a special "iron cross" award for hauling the most iron 'cross the country. An award was also presented to Smiley, the only rider to complete the run on a hardtail bike. He was given a substantial inflatable ring on which to place his backside on the ride home.

The Run laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns; the presenters included Chuck Parola, Ron Eschinger, Steve Walker and Sally Marie Down-Clevinger. Chuck and Ron are on the Board of Directors, Steve (better known as Sgt. Rock) drove one of our support vehicles this year and Sally Marie (AKA Sizz-Mo) represented the FNG contingent. The ceremony was covered by CNN and was aired several times during the weekend.
 

After the presentation, the Run did a ride-by past Joe Murphy's grave. Joe was Smokes brother and was a pilot that was shot down very early in the war. We gave Joe a roaring salute as we paraded past.

Lunch followed at the DC Ramblers club house. After lunch, some folks went to the Ft.Washington Harley-Davidson shindig for still more food. Most folks went back to quarters to get some much needed rest.

For those that stayed at the Days Inn in Alexandria, there was a special treat in store. Jeanette Blake, the front desk supervisor, told us that her family was having a barbecue in our honor and she invited us across the street to have some barbecued craps, ribs, hamburgers and fish. Also being served were gallons of cole slaw, and bucket after bucket of fresh oysters. Iron Mike distinguished himself by opening hundreds of and even letting some other people eat some of them. This was a truly great dinner, made all the better by the pure spirit of generosity that the Blake family showed to the Run.

The Night Patrol headed down to the Wall at about 2200 hrs. It was quite interesting to see how this event has grown. Instead of the usual dozen or so riders, there were thirty-five bikes lined up and ready at departure time. The Patrol presented several items at the Wall: teddy bears from Salina, flags from the Prescott VA Hospital, a Navajo Nation Flag, and Rear Admiral R. Robinson's Command Flag which had been flown with pride from RC Busha's Bike all the way across the country. RADM Robinson was KIA when his command chopper crashed on the fantail of a ship during Operation Linebacker in 1972.

Sunday morning the Run headed over to the Pentagon Parking lot to begin the long wait to pull out. The weather was clear and hot. CNN came by and interviewed the riders as did C-SPAN. Adrian Cranauer visited and ended up riding in the parade on Deekin's bike. The parade was just as moving as always with thousands lining the route to the Wall. Unofficial estimates placed the number of bikes at 250,000 to 270,000. Quite an impressive sight. The Canada Run departed at 3:00 from the Lincoln Memorial.

The Run reports that the area of operations is all secure, however all are not accounted for, more than 2075 remain missing. The riders will begin heading for home at zero dark thirty tomorrow morning. Ride safe, everyone.

That is all.