May 19, 2025 – Day 6 to DC – Junction City, KS to Wentzville, MO

Here are our Vietnam vets for today:

                                             

Roger Canady

He was in the Air Force from 1970-1991

He was in Vietnam 71-72, Offett 72-74, McClellan 74-79, Travis 79-83, McClellan 83-91

He did aircraft structural repair

Larry Koenig

He served in the Army from January 1972 to January 1996.

He was at Ft Leonard Wood , MO ; Missouri  Ft. Carson CO; Fort Benning; Georgia Germany: Ft Riley, KS Fort Leavenworth KS Fort Bliss TX: southwest Asia

His rank was Sergeant Major.

His job was infantry and staff operations.

                                                             THANK YOU FOR FOR SERVICE

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First I thought I would show these 2 pics I forgot to post from Winslow AZ from Kelly.  It is the 911 Memorial.  Sometime a few platoons have a break out. Meaning they will go ahead of the pack for these kind of stops.

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Today I rode with the Ambassadors.  They are the group that will go on the bridges and thank the people for coming out and showing support for our veterans. There is a morning meeting like all the other platoons. (and guess what.... a platoon challenge). They will sometimes go to kids' schools  if there are not many overpasses.  AZ is a good example.

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First stop 4 people and a big flag.  We thanked them and as we were leaving, we asked how long the one gentleman served.  Another comment came from the 2nd person that said he did not serve that long. The first gentleman came back with : no matter how long you serve, 1 day, 4 years or 20 years, we all want lasting peace.  Soooo true

Sun was trying to come out and made cool sun rays thru the clouds ( you know I love  pics of any kind).

Next stop a bridge with a few more flags....impressive.

Even more flags so when you get on the bridge you expect to to see a lot of people.  I had so many questions: how long does it take to set up, how many help,.....  Nope , no time.  Hand out pins and head to the next bridge.  With this  team, they send 2-3 people up the ramp, hand out pins and back on the highway.  Then join their pack.   It is like leap frog.  You can hit pretty many bridges.  Impressive.

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Thanks Sony and Eric for letting me tag along.  

Also thanks to Dan Gilman (aka Eleven) for giving me a ride.

You do so much for RFTW that a lot of people do not see.

Since I was with one of the advanced teams, I am ahead of the pack.  Cool, I get to see the pack come in and see some of the road guards at work.

Soooo  am watching them......

...then I look over his shoulder.  I can do this... 

What do you think?  Road guard in training....Maybe not.  I would have to learn how to drive a motorcycle.  I do not see that in my future.

Another very important part of our mission is the missing man.  It is an honor and privilege to ride this position for someone, usually KIA or MIA. The escort "Rides for those who can't."   

The person's name is put in the Missing Man position.  Every leg on the Run is covered.  

                         

Missing Man

Formation:

Route Coordinator                    State Coordinator

                           Escort                                        Missing Man (space)                      

Missing Man Coordinator        Head Chaplin  

Many of the riders will stop and pay respect to the person in the Missing Man place.

Today Judy rides for her brother. You saw earlier in the week when we were at the Vietnam wall replica in Eagle Nest that his name is on the wall.

These are the 2 on the above sheet.

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Tom Pogue with his wife Denise coordinates those that want to ride here. 

Thank you for your dedication to this aspect of the Run.

 Left is Thumper, state coordinator, and right is Kirk, Route coordinator.

Here is how it looks on the road.

As I continue to the bike, I see the Last Man vehicle. This is the same one that got hit with a ton of hail balls. Looks really good now. Tommy "Two Chains", lets the RC know when he is on the highway. The RC hold the pack to about 45 MPH until everyone is on.

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I have been trying to give you an idea logistically how we get across our beautiful country.  Maybe I should have started with our Road Guards.

These guys create a bubble around the whole pack. Here are some of the things they do:

• They have an advance team that will run in front the pack and check the roads ahead, set people at the turn interchanges and lets the road guard captain if any issues  ahead

• They will block on ramps so no cars get in the middle of the pack

• They stop traffic at all intersections for the pack to go thru without stopping

• They direct the bikers into the gas pumps then toward the staging teams

• Work with the LEOs for clearing the highways.

• Sit on the side of the road or run along the pack to see if there are any large gaps. We want to keep the pack tight.

• And I am sure I have missed several other things

Few pics of our team. Will Bill and Top hat are 2 of our more seasoned guard and also Vietnam vets. Thanks guys for all you do.

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I will show more pics over the next several days.

Ok back on the road after the gas stop and now I am riding with Dan Koster , aka Boilermaker.  In Missouri, the local, state, city... police departments get together to give us a traffic free highway....we love this.   They are known for a "Flying V" with all the officers.  Since Dan is in the front..... perfect chance.  

Well best laid plans .... not so good today but here is what I got.  Awesome to see it work.   All these cities , towns and states work really hard to get us cross county safely.

Time for lunch.  Thanks all for keeping us safe to complete our mission.

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Time for lunch.

We are in Concordia. Best little park and great food.  I know I will have gained 10 pounds before I get home.

The kids in this picture walked around and handed our buttons that they made.  They also handed out cards so we could reply  to the school.  We give our city and state, then pin them on a map.  Great geography and history lessons.  They are our future.

I was informed today of another road guard job.... sort of.  Lori , the event coordinator, was last in line for food.  She looked pretty tired so Clutch said he would serve her.

Then a few others stopped in line, so he kept serving.  

I guess I need to add this to the list.  What do you think Catfish?

Check out the support as we leave....

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Oh My GOSH!!!.  This  was so exciting.  They were screaming and waving flags.  Good thing I had a helmet on since my allergies were kicking in.

We are half way cross country and I am always impressed with the bridges.  

How long have they waited, how long to put up the flags, who made the signs.  
Remember we go under the bridge in a matter of minutes.  LOVE this.

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Last stop is Wentzville.  Look at the people as we roll in.

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What a great venue. 

This lady sang our National Anthem and it sounded so good outside.  Then they played Taps...Who has the tissues?  I cannot get past this ever.  Anyone else need a tissue?

Steak and potatoes on the menu.  

WOW.... great... here we go again ..it will now be 15 pounds.

And the desserts.....yum!

Thanks to all the people we met that have supported us in so many aspects.

We truly live in a great and giving and caring country.

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SAY THEIR NAME AND THEY WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

Temps: 55-77

Route: I-70E

Miles: 343

Quotes for the day:      

Honoring the past, inspiring the future

We don't know them all, but we owe them all.