Category: Midway Route 2022 SitReps

Howdy Folks!  I am Jim “Hoofer” McCrain, and I will be your SITREP Author for the 2022 Run For The Wall Midway Route.  I am honored that our Route Coordinator asked me to do this again.  I will do my best to let you know what it is like to participate with the RFTW Midway Route, and keep you informed of just what it is that we do every day.

A little background about the Midway Route is in order.  Midway is the youngest of the three cross-country routes.  It was first scouted out in 2014, with the first official “Run” being made in 2015.  We crossed the country together for five years before the Covid pandemic shut everything down.  We waited for two years, and now we are back!

The Midway Route begins (just like the two other Routes) in Ontario California.  Midway has the distinction of being the FIRST route to leave the main staging area each year.  This is because we have farther to go on our first day of riding.  And since we are the “younger sibling” of the other Routes, THEY wouldn’t let us use their toys!  Uh, … I mean fuel and food stops.  Actually, I am just kidding about that.  When the Midway Route was first developed, it was decided to NOT put any extra burden on the cities and small tons that we travel through, so we set up our own fuel, food, and lodging logistics.  RFTW tries very hard to not disrupt the locations that we ride through.

I guess I should tell you more about where we are going, and why those logistic decisions were made.  The Central and Midway Routes SHARE the same highways for the first half of Day One.  We both travel from Ontario to the Kingman/Seligman Arizona area.  While Central route starts moving north from there, Midway continues heading East along the I-40 corridor.  Both Routes combined have approximately 1000 Riders.  That is a LOT of fuel and food, not to mention at least 500 hotel rooms.  (Most Riders find a roommate before the Run begins, to help cut down on the cost of participating.)  So you can see why we have to ride a little farther.  It is nicer for the communities that we visit.

And the communities that Midway visits are the BEST!  Let me tell you about the reception we had at “Mother Road Harley Davidson” in Kingman, Arizona.  We were lead directly to them by some of Kingmans finest Motor Officers.  It is NICE to let our Road Guards have a break for a while, since it WAS 100 degrees today!  When we got off of our bikes, we could smell a delicious hamburger lunch being prepared for us.  But they wouldn’t let us go eat it!  First, we “had” to shake a lot of hands from all of the supporters that were waiting for us, waving flags and cheering all the time.  Then several pretty girls wanted to hug all of the Veterans.  (They gave ME a hug, too!)  Then there were more handshakes and hugs from the staff of “Mother Road HD.”  You know, it was a pretty nice price to pay for the most excellent lunch!  Thank You all so much for your support and WONDERFUL welcome to our Riders!

Speaking of those people waving flags and cheering, I got to have some fun today.  In addition to writing the SITREPS and being the Photographer, I also am working with the Ambassadors to greet people and spread the word about RFTW.  Part of that is visiting with people that are standing on overpasses or along side streets.  These people will stand in the blazing sun for HOURS just waiting for us to roll by.  And that only takes a couple of minutes!  So the Ambassadors try to stop and visit with them if it is at all possible.  Well today, I was able to stop at four overpasses that were just COVERED in American flags.  It is such a sight to behold as we roll along, and for me to get to visit with these Patriots is an honor that I wish the other Riders could have.  Over the years, I have stopped at two of these bridges and met some fantastic people, but I didn’t know if that would happen this year, as we haven’t done this since 2019.  Guess what?  THEY WERE THERE!  They haven’t forgotten us!  I got to hug their necks and shake their hands.  I got to tell THEM how special that they are to our Riders.  I got to hand out some of our souvenir pins to add to their collection.  And I got to say a quick prayer of Thanks with one Lady that I have now seen for three years.  She has promised that they will be back next year, and wished us safe travels for the rest of our journey.

Folks, let me tell you … Patriotism is not dead in this country.  I can prove it with a few pictures.  Remember, it was 100 degrees today!  And we had people on the bridges and overpasses all along our 400+ mile route today.  They were standing along the street at the Marine Corp base in Barstow.  They were on street corners in Seligman.  Of course, dozens of overpasses had throngs of people standing on them all throughout California and Arizona.  They were parked in fields in the middle of nowhere, just waiting for us!  I wish I could have stopped and talked to each one of them, but unfortunately I can’t do that.  (The Pack is riding down the highway, remember?  Once I stop, I have to catch back up again, and that can take a while!)  But I wouldn’t give up this honor for anything.  America, we love YOU as much as you love US!

We got some more great love in Flagstaff!  As we were approaching our evening stop, we picked up a LEO Escort through town.  LEO stands for Law Enforcement Officer.  Yep, we had more “Cops” with us with lights flashing.  (It is SO nice to see them in FRONT of you instead of BEHIND you!)  The city streets were lined with hundreds of people watching us roll by.  It was an “un-scheduled” parade, and we loved it!  Well the LEO lead us directly to the VFW Post #1709.  There we were treated to a scrumptious dinner of “sloppy joe’s”, beans, and Chips.  And nothing ever tasted better!  Our Host might have been the VFW, but our “servers” were a local Boy Scout Troop.  This Troop has been helping us EVERY yeqr.  It has been great to see some of the same faces as they are growing and maturing into responsible and PATRIOTIC Young Men!  They are the future Leaders of our Country, and they give us all hope for the future!

After dinner, it was time to fuel up the bikes so that we can roll out early in the morning, and then off to the Hotel rooms for a few hours of sleep.  (Fewer for some of us because of our jobs.)   I work about 3 hours each night editing photos and writing the SITREPS, while the Staging Crew and Fuel Team have to get up at OH FOUR O’CLOCK to be ready for the day!  (I ASSUME that our Route Leaders do “some” work at night, too!)

But you know what?  A few weeks of little sleep is a small price to pay for the privilege of riding with our Heroes.  We volunteer for these positions because it is our way of saying Thank You to the Men and Women that have served our Country.  And that is the same reason why there are so many supporters waving those red, white, and blues at us.  We owe a debt of gratitude and honor to these brave people.  Today was Day One of our Mission to do just that!

If you have read any of my SITREPS from previous years, you might remember me mentioning  a book that my Father wrote about 45 years ago.  I think about it every morning as we set out on our Mission.  The title says it all:  “I wonder what today will bring?”  I’ll let you know tomorrow!

Cheers!

Jim “Hoofer” McCrain

Years, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes.
We have waited.

Tears, sorrow, anxiety, sleepless nights.
We have endured.

Deep Breaths, the flutter of a heart-beat, a twinge of anticipation.
We have prepared.

A Pledge, a Prayer, a folded flag.  TAPS.
We are ready.

It is Here.  It is Time.  A Promise is about to be fulfilled.

The Run For The Wall Mission commences now.

Early in the morning, on May 18, 2022, America will be greeted with the roar of 1500 motorcycles as Veterans and Patriots embark on an annual Mission to honor a promise made over 30 years ago.  The promise was made to a small group of missing Men by a grieving comrade.  The promise was to remember them, and to honor them.  To demand a full accounting of their fate.  To bring them Home if possible.  The promise was made, and kept.

But it grew to include more and more comrades.  It became a rallying point for Heroes that needed to fulfill their OWN promises to their OWN Men.  It became a ritual.

As time marched on, it became even more than that.  As more and more Brothers and Sisters learned of this event, it became a Pledge.  A pledge to not only remember those troops, but to honor their families.  To pay tribute to THEIR sacrifices, and to let them know that they are not alone.

And it continues to grow.  This Mission is about to encompass a new generation.  It will no longer be just for those “old guys” but will formally welcome and include our current young Military Heroes, and will pay honor to the sacrifices that THEY have and are making.  Those Young Men and Women from the “Sandbox” that are experiencing the very same horrors, traumas, and griefs that their older compatriots have experienced, now have their OWN Promise to keep.

But they will not walk that path alone.  They will be able to look behind them and see hundreds of thousands of supporters, friends, families, and patriots walking with them, all ready to lend a helping hand, an attentive ear, a shoulder to cry on, or just a simple word to say “Thank You.  Welcome Home.”  They will not have to endure the shame of a Nation that wanted to forget them.  They will have the legacy of their forebears to lean on and to learn from.

They will survive.  They will carry on.  They will fulfill their promise.

Just as that original Marine did more than 30 years ago.

As you wake on the morning of May 18, please walk outside.  Look around.  Breathe the fresh air.  Take a moment and think about all of the wonderful things that you could do today.  And then think about the current state of World affairs.  Right now, as you are taking that breath of fresh air, someone in another country is breathing their last.  Someone is fighting for the right to do those same wonderful things that you take for granted.  Someone is willing to stand up to a tyrant and say “No More!” even if it costs them everything that they have, including their life, for Freedom.

Remember that someone has paid a very high price so that you COULD do all of these things.  In fact, they were willing to die to give you that gift.  They spilled their own blood upon the ground so that you did not have too.  They gave up everything, forever, so that you could enjoy today.

The Riders of Run For The Wall are going to spend the next two weeks honoring one Mans Promise, but as a Pledge to ALL Americans that we will not forget, and that we will give ALL of our Military Personnel the honor and respect that they deserve.  To do any less would be a disgrace and dishonor.  The riders of RFTW are better than that!

To the Lord God in Heaven above, I ask that you put your hand of comfort and safety on the shoulder of each of our Riders, and guide them across our Country.  I ask that you enhance their skills and abilities past their own comprehension.  I ask that you Bless them with compassion and healing for their wounds, both seen and unseen.  I ask you to bring upon them the Honor and Respect that they so richly deserve for their actions defending our Nation.  And I ask that you bring them Home.  Bring them ALL Home!

Jim “Hoofer” McCrain

There is so much that I want to tell you about Run For The wall.  But if I told you EVERYTHING that I know about it, you would never be able to stop reading about it, because I couldn’t stop writing about it.  And I don’t know all there is too know!  There are just so many facets to this organization that I am not sure that ANYONE knows it all!

But whether or not we understand all that goes into organizing this Mission, what we Do know is what that Mission IS!  Our official Mission Statement is: 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.

You are probably saying “So, Hoofer, what does that mean?  How are you going to do any of that?”  My answer lies in just a few of the events that occurred today.  And remember, our Mission doesn’t officially start until Wednesday!

This afternoon, two of our American Service Men, that had been wounded in Battle, were presented with new, specially developed and outfitted motorcycles!  Both of these heroes lost their legs while serving our Country.  Their normal life was shattered in an instant.  They would never resume their passion for riding free in the wind on two wheels again.  … …  Until the “Combat Heroes Bike Build” organization stepped in.

This group takes donated motorcycles and adapts them to the specific needs of our Combat Wounded Men, and presents them free-of-charge.  They give these Heroes a little bit of their own freedom back, along with some pride, dignity, and some simple old-fashioned FUN again!  These bikes bring back a small sense of “normalcy” to their lives.  When they see the bikes for the first time, hear them fire up the engine and roar, and then get back into the saddle and ride off into the sunset, they are no longer “just a guy in a chair.”  They are a guy doing what they used to do.  They are back to their old way of life.  It is an amazing transformation to witness.  I cannot fathom what it feels like to them to regain this little bit of freedom and independence.  And that is ONE way that we fulfill our Mission statement.

Another way though, is to just be there to listen when one of our Veterans, or the FAMILY of one of our KIA needs to talk.  That happened today, completely unscripted or planned, and it has affected everyone that was present.

A gentleman rode in on a really cool looking WWII vintage-style bike.  And I mean this thing is COOL!  Yes, it is a new bike that has been made to look like an old bike, but it looks great.  As we started to look closer, we could see some inscriptions and insignia painted onto some very conspicuous places.  On the front of the bike we could see a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a service ribbon, and multiple campaign badges.  But what really caught our eye was the big black banner that read “Combat Medic Cody Towse Memorial Motorcycle.”

The Gentleman that brought the bike started to tell us the story about Cody Towse, a combat Medic that was killed in Action on May 14, 2013.  (Almost exactly nine years ago.)  Cody was a Medic, and was supposed to be in a relatively safe area.  His unit was constantly living with the threats found in Afghanistan, such as snipers, ambushes, and Improvised Explosive Devices.  (IED)  One afternoon, four Men from his unit were killed because of an IED.  Cody wrote home to his father and said “Today we lost four Men.  It is sad that no one knows or cares, or will remember them.”

Two days later, there was an explosion as a soldier stepped on an IED.  Cody ran to this wounded soldiers side, knelt down beside him, and began administering critical life-saving first aid.  Other Corpsman showed up, lifted the soldier onto a stretcher, and carried him away.   And that is when all Hell broke loose.  As Cody stood up, his knee touched the pressure plate on another IED.  The resulting explosion shattered his Families world.

One minute he was there, and then in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.  He simply vanished in that instant of pure carnage.  Cody was listed as Missing In Action because there just wasn’t anything left of him.   It took five days before they could conclusively prove that he had been utterly and completely destroyed.  We had lost a Hero.

And then the REAL story came out.  The Gentleman with the bike is Cody’s Father.

He showed up to the exact right place today, at the exact right time, to learn that we DO care, and we WILL remember Cody, AND his four Brothers in Arms!  We were able to help each other simply by listening and assuring this grieving Father that his Son did not die in vain.  In fact, his son died saving the life of a fellow soldier.  The bible reads, in John 13:15 “Greater love hath no Man than this, that a Man lay down his life for his friends.”  Cody died a Hero!

I was privileged to be part of a small group that heard this story first-hand.  One of our group is the Father of a Soldier that had been in Afghanistan and who’s Son had very narrowly escaped a similar fate.  These two Men were able to share a special moment, a special bond, even though the outcome was so vastly different.  Both Men understand the fear, anxiety, and stress that comes from having a child in a war zone.  And while one Man lost everything, the other could help him understand why, and how sacred and honorable his Sons sacrifice was.

Jim NEEDED to tell this story.  We NEEDED to hear it.  YOU need to know it, too.

We are Run For The Wall.  This is what we do.

Jim “Hoofer” McCrain