May 24, 2025 – In Washington DC
It was a beautiful day. Started at 53 and hit the mid 60s.
First order of business of the day is to meet and get the picture of all the Run routes at the Lincoln Memorial. It is still under construction so we have it by the Reflection Pond. WOW !! Way to go to everyone for making it to DC.
Then we walked to the Vietnam Wall.
Most of the riders are carrying bios (read in the morning meetings), cards, trinkets .... to be placed at the Wall. All these items are collected and placed in storage
Tell their stories,
Never forget.
It has been a very long journey to get here.
The RFTW Plaque is placed at the apex of the Vietnam Wall.
MISSION COMPLETE!!
I have the honor to flip Valor's. Thanks mom!
As the plaque was being placed, Kim was playing Amazing Grace. Whose turn is it for the tissues? Kim and her friend played several songs as people walked along the wall. It was so surreal.
Thank you ladies, you really make the walk along that wall meaningful.
Just some quick info on Kim, and how much she embraces the military and how much she is respected.
Pipe Major Kim Greeley – Storm Watch - born in Hawai’i, has been piping since she was 11 years old. Kim has studied and performed piping in Hawai’i, on the mainland, in Canada, and in the United Kingdom. Kim has performed for military retirement celebrations, military funerals, and repatriation ceremonies. She is the piper on call for repatriation services at the National Cemetery of the Pacific. She also piped for the 9/11, WWI and WWII worldwide remembrance events. Kim’s largest concert is the annual one for the Riders of the Run For The Wall gathering at the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day weekend. Kim has coordinated her performances with airplane and helicopter flyovers, parachute drops, presentations by government and military dignitaries, and other bands. Kim, along with pipers in her band, played for the interment of Lauren F. Bruner, the last crew member who will ever be returned to the U.S.S. Arizona at Pearl Harbor – coordinating the performance on Ford Island with the military divers as they returned Mr. Bruner’s ashes to the battleship.
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Walking to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we pass field after field of tombstones.
The military guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is changed in an elaborate ceremony which happens every hour on the hour from October 1 through March 31, and every half hour from April 1 through September 30.
Twenty-four hours a day, soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," stand watch over the Tomb. The Tomb Guards, also called Sentinels, are chosen for this prestigious and highly selective post only after rigorous training and a demanding series of examinations (see below). The Old Guard has held this distinguished duty since 1948.
The Tomb Guard marches exactly 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process. (The number 21 symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed, the 21-gun salute.) Next, the Sentinel executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors, signifying that he or she stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.
Taps are played.
Look at the day we got and the beautiful sky.
Several years ago on this incredible journey, we had a speaker that said this, and it really stuck:
Teach all to honor those that protect our country.
Always be loyal to those serving.
And never leave anyone behind.
So therefore, the Run must never stop.
POW / MIA Poem
We need to remember them every day.
They went to fight in a place so far away,
They gave their all when their country sent out a call
Not ever knowing that their name would end up on the wall,
No matter how we honor them no matter what we do
We should always remember that they paid the highest price
For the red, white and blue.
So when you look up at the flag flying in the wind on a clear blue day
Remember it’s there because of the
POW and MIA
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I hope this blog has given you some idea of our mission. It is a grueling trip. Long day, short night, 4;30 AM wake up calls…. This starts to wear on you. Our trip was only 10 days. Think of our troops in extreme hot and cold days. They have a lack of sleep, long days......they stand to keep us safe a lot longer than 10 days.
Here are a few fun facts about our trip
- Temperature ranged 32-105
- We traveled in 14 states + Washington DC
- From Loveland, OH to Ontario, CA to DC to Loveland, OH – 6200+ miles
- Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
We did not pay for meals on our mission. Every town we stayed in welcomed us, fed us, and prayed for our safety. The support, encouragement, respect that the Americans have for the mission is incredible. There is an unbelievable amount of time hanging banners, kids making bracelets, making pocket patches, hanging flags on the overpasses, closing down streets, organizing volunteers for meals, setting up fuel stops. and the list goes on.
100s, 1000s of hours given by so many to make this happen: route coordinator, state coordinators, missing man coordinator, staging team, fuel team, hydration team, road guards, medical personnel…..and the riders themselves. The logistics to get that many people across the country has to be done by so many
We continually asked each other: What time is it? What timezone are we in? What day is it? What state are we in? But there is one thing we knew the answer to: what was our mission?
Mission Statement of RFTW : To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world
I have sent many quotes thru the last 10 days. Here are my last few:
U - Unselfish
S - Service to
A - America
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
General George Patton
Honor and Remember them all.
On the Run, we said the Pledge every day. I see our flag and have taken pictures of it all week. Every time I see it waving in the air, it is telling me I am free. And that right is protected by our men and women. Let's continue to try and bring them all home.
HOW FAR ARE WE GOING??? ------ ALL THE WAY
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!
Hitch, Valor and her husband sent me this at the end of the day.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET"
One more set of prayers please, and that is to get everyone home safely from DC and continue to pray for all service men and women, past and present.
I leave you with this song:
Arlington (by Trace Adkins)
I never thought that this is where I’d settle down
I thought I’d die an old man back in my hometown
They gave me this plot of land
Me and some other men, for a job well-done
There’s a big white house
Sits on a hill just up the road
The man inside
He cried the day they brought me home
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad
We’re proud of your son
And I’m proud to be
On this peaceful piece of property
I’m on sacred ground
And I’m in the best of company
I’m thankful for those thankful
For the things I’ve done
I can rest in peace
I’m one of the chosen ones
I made it to Arlington
I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight
We searched all day
To find out where my grand-dad lay
When we finally found that cross
He said, “Son this is what it costs
To keep us free”
Now here I am, a thousand stones away from him
He recognized me on the first day I came in
And it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels
And saluted me
And I’m proud to be
On this peaceful piece of property
I’m on sacred ground
And I’m in the best of company
I’m thankful for those thankful
For the things I’ve done
I can rest in peace
I’m one of the chosen ones
I made it to Arlington
And every time I hear twenty-one guns
I know they brought another hero home to us
We’re thankful for those thankful
For the things we’ve done
We can rest in peace
‘Cause we are the chosen ones
We made it to Arlington
Yeah, dust to dust
Don’t cry for us
We made it to Arlington
Original logo from 1989:
God bless the USA.
NEVER FORGET !!!!!
