The online store is currently facing a technical issue for anyone trying to add product(s) to the cart. I’m working through this and will update you on when this is resolved.
I appreciate your patience as we continue the integration with the new eCommerce platform.
Best regards,
Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise
Run For The Wall
https://rftw.us
Beginning September 1, 2025, the online store will transition to Square for all merchandise purchases. This change will add new payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and others as well as provide deeper integration with the Point-of-Sale systems that are used in the trailers during the Run. By doing this, it will improve the efficiency when preparing merchandise for the Run each year since the inventory and products will already be integrated into the same system. While everything is being done to ensure a smooth transition, I do expect that there may be issues and ask for your patience and understanding. If anything comes up, please let me know by sending an email to merchandise@rftw.us. I will do my best to address issues within a 24 hour period and if I can’t, I’ll let you know.
Also, look for new 2026 stuff coming your way for opening day of 2026 registration on September 11. As we recognize the 35th year to the end of the Gulf War, there will be new limited editions of a challenge coin, patch and other items. I will send out additional details in a future communication as we get closer to registration opening.
Thank you everyone for your continued support of Run For the Wall. Is it May yet?
Best regards,
Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise
Run For The Wall
https://rftw.us
Hey everyone. I wanted to let you know that the online store has been reopened. With that, please note that any shirt or head gear order will ship the week of July 7th since these items are currently in transit back to our supplier. Also, there is a new addition to the store which is a brand new official Run For The Wall challenge coin. This has been redone with new graphics and colors to enhance the previous version. You can find the new challenge coin here.
To close, as a welcome home from this year’s 2025 Run For The Wall, all shirts are on sale at 40% off the regular price from today thru July 4th. In addition, free shipping will be available for orders over $50 vs. the current $100.
Thank you everyone for your support of Run For the Wall this past year and I wish everyone a fun, enjoyable and safe summer.
Best regards,
Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise
Run For The Wall
https://rftw.us
*(This newsletter is best read and designed to be read at this link.)
RFTW and Central Route, Happy Belated Father’s Day, and Welcome Home. RFTW and Central Route, Happy Belated Father’s Day, and Welcome Home. As I look at the calendar, I can’t believe that it is already 3-weeks since I got home from the 2025 35th Annual Run for the Wall. As I look at the calendar, I can’t believe that it is already 3-weeks since I got home from the 2025 35th Annual Run for the Wall.
(OK… Who has the “Audio Relay” setting turned ON on their GMRS radio!?! Whoever is NOT hearing or reading double, it’s YOU!) 😂😂 (OK… Who has the “Audio Relay” setting turned ON on their radio!?! Whoever is NOT hearing or reading double, it’s YOU!) 😂😂
As I reflect back over the this years’ Run, I am flooded with emotions, everything from joy and sadness (at times), and everything in-between. It was wonderful to see old and new faces, and a chance for me to get know many of you better. This Run did not happen by accident. It happens because of the countless volunteers, state coordinators, team & crew leads, and their respective teams. So, State Coordinators, Road Guards, Missing Man Coordinator, Staging Crew, Fuel Crew, Ambassadors, Outreach, Chaplains, Orange Hats, Medical, Last Man & Chase, Hydration, Registration, All Leadership Support (FNG Liaison, Platoon Coordinator, Raffle Rousers, Photographer, Quartermaster), and the volunteers that feed and welcome us into your local communities…. THANK YOU!
I especially would like to single out four personal Thank You’s. Nick Hentges, the 2025 Mentor, and the 2024 RC, thank you for continuing to pester me until I said “yes”. Kim Greeley & Jenny Ward, you morphed into my Chief(s) of Staff on about Day 1. Thank you, thank you. And finally, my Assistant Route Coordinator, Jim McDonough, you were always, always there stepping up. I could not have done this without you. Thank you for helping make 2025 one of the best Run’s we have had.
My goal this year was to make the Run memorable, meaningful, and yes, even fun, as we honored and rode for those that came before us, died and fought for our way of life and our country. It is my hope that it was all of that for you and more — especially for our FNGs.
I’d like to remind all of you that it does really help if you fill-out an After Action Report. There is also a link to it on the Central Route Hub. They have already started to roll-in, and I promise you that Jim and I do read them. Tell us what and who was great, and what and who was not. I have already taken notes from several of them for my final report-out to the BoD.
For many people on the Run, myself included, there is probably a “moment” every RFTW that becomes a personal memorable moment, you know, the kind that hits you that you will never forget. My moment from this years’ Run was Day 3, May 16, 2025. I had pre-arranged with Tom “Bones” Pogue to secretly slot my father, Harlan Olson a Vietnam Veteran, into the Missing Man Formation on the final leg into the Angel Fire Memorial, and he was not to find out until we were to depart from lunch. The problem we encountered was that my dad’s bike was acting up, so he left our first stop in Albuquerque to go straight to an H-D Dealer to see if they could diagnose and fix his mis-firing bike. I sent him a text message informing him that he had enough time to meet us at lunch.
I needed this to happen because he still did not know he was slotted for the Missing Man. He ignored it because he was riding and did not know it was me. All he felt was a vibrating phone in his pants pocket. He only pulled over to take a picture of his bike’s odometer turning 100,000 miles. That is when and why he read my text, telling him to make it to the lunch stop. He finally did. When he arrived, I told him to go inside grab something to eat and drink because we were not to depart for a few more minutes. When he went inside, I quickly moved his motorcycle into the Missing Man Slot. When he came back outside, that is when he discovered where his bike was, and where he was going to ride for the final leg of the Day into the Angel Fire Vietnam Memorial. On the ground chalked out were the names of two Vietnam Veterans.
When we got to the Angel Fire Vietnam Veterans Memorial, we all gathered near the Huey Helicopter there, and we laid two memorial bricks for those two KIAs, similarly like we do every Labor Day Weekend, when we lay several hundred at the RFTW Angel Fire Reunion.
Before the bricks were laid, I read this to our riders:
“It was the third inning, and the 2nd Air Division Cobras held a 6-1 lead over the Advisory Group Support Branch in their night game at Pershing Field, the U.S. military’s softball diamond outside Saigon. In the stands, 150 partisan American fans—soldiers, sailors, embassy civilians, wives and children—booed and cheered. Suddenly, two explosions under the stands sent shrapnel slicing through the planking, shearing the leg off a G.I., hurling jagged splinters like missiles into the crowd. Amid the wreckage, two soldiers lay dying, 23 other Americans dazed and injured.
Set off by two stolen, U.S.-made fragmentation bombs buried in the soil, the sabotage was the gravest anti-American terrorist episode in South Viet Nam’s war against the Communist Viet Cong —and an unsettling commentary on the Saigon military regime’s security apparatus, since the U.S. stadium is next door to Vietnamese Joint General Staff headquarters. The incident was also the latest in a fresh wave of terror ism directed at Americans. What I just read was an article from TIME Magazine, February 21, 1964, titled, Bombs in the Ballpark.
SP4 Arthur Wayne Glover was a signal security specialist and PFC Donald R. Taylor a communications center specialist. Both were assigned to the 3rd Radio Research Unit (RRU) at Ton Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon, RVN. On February 9, 1964, Taylor and Glover were at a gathering along with a collection of 150 soldiers, sailors, embassy civilians, spouses, and children when two consecutive explosions hit the area. The bombs, two Claymore mines which detonated under the bleachers at Pershing Field during a softball game, sent a hail of shrapnel flying in all directions, injuring 23 individuals (another source quotes 41 injured) and mortally wounding both Taylor and Glover. It was later determined that the Viet Cong had planted a total of five mines under the bleachers. Military police found three that failed to detonate. Officials estimated that had they detonated, fifty persons would have died. The mines were on a circuit with a pocket watch with an hour hand, suggesting that they were set less than 12 hours earlier. It was later determined that Vietnamese were conspicuously absent from the game that night, and that a Vietnamese kid had told one of his American friends not to play under the bleachers.
What that TIME Magazine article did not say was that my father, Harlan Olson, served with these two men in the Army’s 3rd Radio Research Unit and he was sitting right next to them 30 minutes earlier, before these bombs went off. They begged my dad to stay and finish watching the game with them. However, he left the field to go back to his barracks because he needed and wanted to go a write a letter to my mother, who was a senior in high school at the time back in Decorah, Iowa. My dad would not be here today if he had not gone and wrote that letter to my mom. I would not be here today because this happened on February 9, 1964, and I was born in August of 1968. While I never knew them, these two soldiers are a part of our family, and that is why my family remembers Arthur Wayne Glover and Doanld Taylor. I did not know until I was an adult, that dad had survivors’ guilt for decades. The Run for the Wall motorcycle ride has allowed him heal over these last 18-years. We will never forget them.”
So, Riders, Continue to tell your stories. Continue to tell their stories. Continue to say their names. Continue the Mission. When you do they are never forgotten.
It truly was my honor and privilege to lead you and our Missing Man Formation across this country.
Please also keep the Paul Woerth family in your prayers.
Is it May yet?
Kirk “Pretty Boy” Olson
kirk.olson@rftw.us
RFTW Central Route Coordinator – 2025
Asst. Route Coordinator – 2024
Road Guard Captain – 2023
Asst. Road Guard Captain – 2019
RFTW Board of Directors – 2016-2019
Road Guard 2010-2018
FNG 2009
The Treasurer is not only a member of the Board but is also a corporate officer with financial and fiduciary responsibilities to the corporation.
This critical position has specific requirements to best serve the corporation and its riders. The successful candidate needs experience with write-up accounting, must be familiar with GAAP, experience with QuickBooks, especially the on-line version, experience with Excel to include creating and modifying spreadsheets, the ability to coordinate multiple actions with multiple players to include other directors and vendors, familiarity with banking apps and their various payment options. Additionally, the Treasurer must be familiar with non-profit reporting across various government agencies. Understanding of and the ability to research reporting requirements, along with the nuances of RFTW and its operations is essential. A huge plus would be someone with credentials to prepare our annual Form 990 return and the ability to represent RFTW during an IRS audit. CPA, Enrolled Agent, or Registered Tax Return Preparer are all positives. While the position does not require a CPA, bookkeeping experience alone is not sufficient. Staff accounting experience would be an ideal qualification.
The successful candidate will submit a resume focused on their meeting the above qualifications, along with RFTW experience. Submit complete resumes to Secretary@RFTW.us. Prior to final approval of the BoD, candidates must successfully undergo a background check and a financial check.
The vacancy will occur on 31 August 2025; however, the successful candidate can be brought on-board early so that we can ensure a smooth transition.
Please send questions can either to Treasurer@rftw.us or President@rftw.us.
This could be your opportunity to help shape the future of RFTW! The Director of Purchasing is a critical and sensitive position with a 3-year commitment that requires specific skills to further the acquisition, transportation, and storage of items needed to complete our annual Mission successfully. We live and work in a highly electronic environment, so knowledge and familiarity with computers, spreadsheets, vendor relations, and other relevant technologies are paramount.
The successful candidate will have a background in using Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and similar tools such as Zoom. A background in logistics and purchasing is highly desired. The successful candidate must become closely attuned to the Bylaws and SOPs of RFTW and be willing and able to actively assist the Route Coordinators through the acquisition process. Occasional training sessions with route volunteers (regarding Quartermasters) may be required to ensure an understanding of our material objectives.
The Director of Purchasing is responsible for:
Appointment to the BoD places demands on your free time. The BoD meets a minimum of once a month, often twice. There are occasional emergency online meetings with as little as 5 days’ notice. Occasional travel is required with certain travel expenses reimbursed. In July each year the BoD convenes Face to Face meetings where attendance is paramount. The winter Face-to-Face meeting may be held in person or via video teleconferencing. The BoD also meets face-to-face each year in Ontario before the Run. This position requires the incumbent to arrive in Ontario in time to ensure the tubs and route supplies are ready for distribution to the Quartermasters on the Saturday before departure.
The successful candidate will submit a resume outlining their skills relevant to those listed here, along with a brief description of their Run experience, including logistics and purchasing experience, and the names of three references we may contact. Veterans are also required to submit an SSAN-redacted copy of their DD-214 that shows the Character of Service (type of discharge). Once selected, the successful candidate will also be required to undergo a Background Check at the Board’s expense. Additionally, the Board of Directors reserves the right to interview candidates for positions on the Board during the selection process.
Those wishing to apply should submit their package to Secretary@rftw.us no later than 15 July 2025. Questions can be directed to President@rftw.us.
If you want to serve Run for the Wall, this is an excellent opportunity to impact the future of our organization. Opportunity knocks… Will YOU answer??? We look forward to hearing from you!
*(This newsletter is best read at this link.)
Central Route! May is finally here!! I have already heard of reports that some riders are already making their way west. Some people like to visit family along the way and take their time.
As I mentioned last month, if you are starting in CA, Central Route is going to do things a little bit different this year. It is my aim to cut down on some of the multiple and sometimes seemingly redundant meetings we have had in the past, specifically in Ontario. We will have ONE Central Route ALL HANDS meeting, at the Holiday Inn (2155 E Convention Center Way, Ontario, CA 91764) in the large ballroom at 1PM on Tuesday, May 13. This meeting is for FNG’s, all riders, and folks in leadership – All Hands. It is hours earlier than in the past, to give people time to rest, relax, and prepare for the next day’s departure. I always hated us going up against the dinner hour the night before we leave, and now I get to fix that and try something new. It is my aim that this is a positive change for the better. We are cutting a separate FNG meeting, separate “leadership meeting”, and then having an all hands on top of all of that. Team leads will still have their meetings, but that is on them to schedule around our one Central Route ALL Hands.
The Central Route Itinerary is out and published. The Ontario schedule is also published. PDF of it is here.
Let’s talk about the Kansas Turnpike Toll Road:
Thanks to the hard work of Dan Webster of CVMA 21-4 and ABATE of KS District 4 our tolls in KS are going to be covered. IMPORTANT: All riders and support vehicles on Central Route that register after April 30th MUST notify the Registration team when you check in so they can make note of your vehicle plate number and state. Also, if you are in or on a different vehicle than indicated on your online registration let them know, otherwise you will receive a toll bill from the Kansas Turnpike Authority. Please register with the Registration Team on May 18th at the Eagles Lodge (supper location) as soon as possible if you plan to join RFTW at Junction City. The cut off time for Last Minute Moe’s, anyone who registered after April 30th, is around 7:30 p.m. to get your license plate entered into the system to get your toll covered. If you register the morning of May 19th your toll will NOT be covered.
If you have a DriveKS or KTAG account, you need to deactivate the tag of the vehicle you will be using for RFTW before May 19, or you will get a toll charge along with Dan’s DriveKS account being charged. Make sure to not deactivate your tag before you travel west in case you use the Kansas Turnpike on your way to join RFTW.
It’s very easy to deactivate. Log in to your DriveKS or KTag account. Under the tab “Vehicles & KTAGs”, click on “View All Vehicles and KTAGs”, next click on “View and Edit All Vehicles”, find the vehicle you will be using and click on “Make Inactive”. Then after May 19th, go in and make it active again. This can also be done using the DriveKS app from your phone and it works exactly the same way.
This is the first year RFTW is going through the cashless tolling process in Kansas. Many other states have been doing this for many years on toll roads. So I’m hoping this goes as smoothly as possible for this year and future years.
One quick note about the GMRS Radios. BTECH recently released in January a large, new firmware update 0.8.0, and now 0.8.3 for the GMRS-PRO radio. This update added a VOX feature. If you did or do any of these updates, check and make sure to DISABLE or double-check that the VOX FEATURE is DISABLED! This could potentially cause too many unnecessary ”open mic” transmissions. You should not use VOX on The Run.
To Disable:
From the front panel of the radio:
MENU > Radio Settings > UNCHECK Enable Vox
(make sure there is no checkmark under this feature and setting)
Additionally, on a side note, when connecting to a Sena headset, you sometimes might hear a never-ending loud beeping. The fix for this is to roll the volume all the way down on the jog dial of the Sena, and then back up to where you want it.
I look forward to seeing everyone in-person starting next week! Ride safe and see you soon!
Honor and Remember Them All.
Remember, RFTW Riders are Built Different.
Kirk “Pretty Boy” Olson
kirk.olson@rftw.us
RFTW Central Route Coordinator – 2025
Asst. Route Coordinator – 2024
Road Guard Captain – 2023
Asst. Road Guard Captain – 2019
RFTW Board of Directors – 2016-2019
Road Guard 2010-2018
FNG 2009
If you have not seen from previous newsletters by me or the other Route Coordinators from Southern, Midway, and Sandbox, RFTW is moving to GMRS for our on-road communications. This is not as big of a transition for us on Central Route this year in 2025, since we piloted the GMRS radios in 2024, and they worked very well. My advice to you all is to get the radio now, and learn how to use, pair, and connect them to your helmet speakers or ear drums. Also, help our friends on Southern, Midway, and Sandbox get theirs set-up and paired. Personally, I use a Sena 50S paired to the radio, and I paired the radio as PHONE 2, to the radio. See Sena directions, on how to do this.
**See this post on Where and What to Buy, and all things GMRS for RFTW.**
**See this Post for Videos on how to Program the radios** or here.
For those of you that are interested in riding to Riverside National Cemetery (RNC), I want to provide you with a few details of what you can expect.
We are honored this year to have a special guest speaker, Mr. Tom Crosby who was a WWII POW. Tom was born in the Philippines to American parents who were working in Manila before WWII started. Tom and his family were taken by the Japanese military to a detention facility at the University of Santo Tomas where he would spend the next 37 months in captivity. On February 3, 1945, General MacArthur’s 1st Cavalry Division rescued Tom and his family, along with 3800 other prisoners. Tom came to the United States where he later joined the Navy during the Korean War and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
The ride to RNC will depart from the Elks on Tuesday, May 13th. 4-wheel vehicles, Slingshots and bikes or trikes with trailers will not ride with the group and are to proceed directly to RNC and park at the RNC Staging Area near the Medal of Honor (MOH) memorial. Do not park in Nimitz Circle. The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, May 13th
07:00 – Breakfast is available at the Elks.
07:30 – Staging in the Elks back parking lot.
07:45 – Mandatory riders safety briefing.
08:00 – Depart Elks to RNC by escort of RFTW Road Guards.
09:00 – Arrive at RNC Nimitz Circle in front of the MOH memorial.
09:10 – 09:30ish – RNC Presentation and Tom Crosby to speak to the riders.
09:30ish – 11:00 – Jim Frost will lead the group within RNC to visit the POW/MIA memorial, Veterans memorial, Gold Star memorial and others as time permits.
11:00 – Depart on your own back to Ontario.
Please ensure you arrive at the Elks in plenty of time. The ride will depart promptly at 08:00 from the Elks and you must be there no later than 07:30 to stage and be able to attend the safety briefing.
Enjoy the ride and RNC!
Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise
Run For The Wall
https://rftw.us
This newsletter is a somewhat lengthy but contains a lot of important information regarding merchandise operations in Ontario, while on the Run and in Springfield. Please take a few minutes to read the entire newsletter so that you’ll have an understanding of what to expect.
To kick this off, almost all of the merchandise is now in transit to Ontario. What this means is that while the online store remains open, it has limited inventory and there is a chance that supply may run out on certain items. So far this hasn’t been an issue but there is risk depending on the volume of orders between now and when the store shuts down for the Run on May 1st. If an item is not available online there is a very good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for in Ontario, or while the trailers are on the move during the Run. The exception will be any prior year pins, patches and apparel that has a year associated with it. These items are not stocked in the trailers and are not resupplied once inventory runs out.
As we get close the end of April, this is a good time to remind you that the online store closes from May 1st thru mid-June. The reopening is based on when the trailers return to Ontario and merchandise is unloaded and shipped back to the suppliers to restock. A notice will go out when the online store is open again.
While in Ontario, there are several important things that you should be aware of. Some old news, some new. To begin, there will be two trailers open for sales again this year, one at the Holiday Inn and the other at the Elks. Days and hours vary based on the schedule below:
| Day | Holiday Inn | Elks |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 10-5 | Closed |
| Sunday | 10-4 | 12-5 |
| Monday | 9-5 | 9-5 |
| Tuesday | 9-2 | 9-2 |
Regarding Springfield, the merchandise trailer will be open from 9 – 5 on Friday and 9 – 2 on Saturday at the American Legion Post 176. Please keep in mind whether you’re just hanging around the trailers or shopping, there is no smoking anywhere nearby as a courtesy to the merchandise team as well as our products, especially apparel. Also, all sales are final therefore no exchanges or refunds. You’re welcome to try on a shirt while you’re at the trailer but once it’s paid for and you leave, it’s yours.
We are now required to charge sales tax on all products sold in California. This will include Ontario and Blythe at 8.75% and Needles at 7.75%. There will be no tax anywhere else on the Run and does not apply to donations.
Another thing to keep in mind is that we are not a bank so anything larger than a $20 bill will not be accepted. We’ve had issues in past years where someone comes to buy a pin for $2 then gives a $100 bill. We can’t support change like that as we have limited cash resources. Thank you for your understanding.
For the first time we’ll be offering a selection of Amsoil products in the trailers for $10. There is a very limited supply of different V-Twin and Metric oils, V-Twin primary and transmission fluids and we’ll carry their Mudslinger.
Finally, don’t forget about Nelson-Rigg for your upcoming luggage needs. They are offering a whopping 30% discount on all of their products and will also be at the Elks this year to assist you with any luggage and cover needs. Also, they will be raffling away some of their products so be sure to check them out! The online link is here. Be sure to use the promo code RFTW.
Well, that’s it for now. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Ontario. May is almost here!
Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise
Run For The Wall
https://rftw.us
The assistant would NOT be a board member but instead would work behind the scenes assisting in the daily management of treasurer activities. This position requires an agreement that includes non-disclosure of corporate processes and activities along with a Character & Fitness Review.
The position description includes:
Title
Treasurer Assistant
Description
This position reports to the Treasurer and will manage various aspects of those processes, under the training and guidance of the Treasurer. These duties could vary and include working with spreadsheets, bank accounts, accounting software, and similar activities.
Required Knowledge & Skills
This position requires an internet connection to access the various accounting software packages, cloud services, and email. A reasonable amount of computer knowledge is desired.
Please email treasurer@rftw.us if you are interested or have any questions.
KLIM is offering sponsorship for all 2026 run for the wall participants. To register simply email Mark Kincart at [email protected] or call him at 602-369-1143 He will get you set up and also help you with any gear questions, from layering to outerwear.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Midway Route Photos from previous runs are no longer available.
We apologize for this inconvenience.
We will post Midway Route Photos from 2025 here following this year’s run.
