You prayer warriors are spectacular!! What a great day!! Temps started at 73 and no rain. Even in the afternoon it went to 94 but there was a nice cloud cover. Great riding weather.
Lance is our Raffle Rouser. The hat he has in his hand was auctioned off. So as you remember, all the money goes to the kids of Rainelle, WV. The guys had a lot of fun with this Bush Boys hat. There is a group of guys from KY that are on the Run. They had it made, figuring they would maybe get $20. Well, 2 of the brothers were bidding again each other and others chipped in to help each beat the other brother…. top bid…. $170… Seriously!! every one was laughing.
Pledge, prayer and a few words from Eamon. We break into platoons for their morning meetings.
We head through Louisville, and we have the highway closed about 8:00. This is rush hour and being it is a big city, there are hundreds of cars. Lee , our KY state coordinator, worked with the LEOs and had the highways close for us to get thru. I would guess there were a lot of people late for work.
We arrive at Robley Rex VA Hospital and are greeted with open arms. They love when the Run comes thru. The patients love it and cannot wait til we get here.
The Robley Rex VA Medical Center is an active,
affiliated acute care and outpatient facility located on a 47-acre hilltop near
downtown Louisville and overlooking the Ohio River. The medical
center also operates three community based outpatient
clinics in the greater Louisville area. These clinics make VA services more
accessible for veterans residing in the Kentucky area.
enlisted in the military in May, 1919, six months after the Armistice date. He
severed for 3 years. He was the last
Kentucky World War I era veteran, and the last known World War I era veteran of
the United States.
to fellow veterans at the Louisville Veteran’s Administration Medical Center.
Rex logged more than 14,000 hours of volunteer time while at the Center. He
dedicated his life helping his fellow veterans, both through the veterans
service organizations and activities at the Medical Center. He continued to volunteer there three days a
week, even at age 105.
We were able to visit several of the patients. They are always so excited to see us come in and love to hear the sound of the motorcycles as we pull in.
This gentleman served in Navy from 1964 to 1967. He was on the USS Yorktown. He put the aircraft on the elevators to get to them up on deck. They put inappropriate notes on the bombs. He just smiled from ear to ear. I can only imagin what they wrote. 😁😁😁
This gentleman served in the Army from1976-1979. It was the end of the Vietnam war. Back then, no one would talk about it. It was a war that they did not want to be in and then were treated purely when they returned. This is his son with him. He was a very grateful we stopped. And thanked us for doing the Run.
The gentleman to his left served with “Popcorn” Billy. He gave me the story on Billy. The 2 here and Billy’s twin brother served in the same unit from 1968-69. They were in the 57th Assault Helicopter Company. It was the first attach on a helicopter unit. Billy’s brother died in this attach and Billy was wounded. Ever since he has been helping all the people can. The name “popcorn” came because he makes popcorn and sells it then donates the proceed. He buys all the supplies. Always smiling and likes hugs!!
We are on the roads for so many days that we miss our families. Lee’s family visited him at a gas stop. So cute.
This is Becca, one of our Medical personal. Thanks Becca for your hard work. Also she is from Alaska. WOW!!!
Sundial
The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial was designed
with a unique approach to honor the military dead from one of America’s most
troubled conflicts. A 14-foot high steel sundial stands at the center of a
granite plaza. Its gnomon casts a shadow on the chiseled name of each fallen
Vietnam war veteran — 1,103 of them — on the anniversary of when they were
killed. Thus each individual is honored
with a personal tribute.
Kentucky’s 23 MIAs are listed behind the sundial so
its shadow never falls on their names. Some have been found since this was build. Those are the ones with a date. We never forget and we will not stop until we bring them all home.
in the nation and contains 327 cut stone panels weighing more than 215 tons.
The stone came from the Pyramid Blue quarry in Elberton, GA. The lettering of
the names and dates are the same style used for official government grave markers
throughout the nation, including Arlington National Cemetery.
If you ever get a chance to go see it, go. It is amazing and an engineering marvel.
That last leg was very hot. Coming into the center , that was air conditioned felt sooo good.
See is only take a few second to say “Thanks for your service”. Not only should you do it for our service men and women, you should also do it for our police and firemen. They have your back on a closer level.
Jackie and Ron are both mayors.How cool is that to have active mayors riding all the way on the Run
Next we heard this load noise. One of the riders at dinner told me he thought there was something wrong with his bike. Nope, it was a helicopter escorting us into Hurricane , WV which is our ending destination for the night. Pretty cool.
We are singing the Star Spangle Banner. I will never get tired of the respect we have.
This is the couple from Italy I wrote about on May 19. You are amazing for coming so far.
Tomorrow we visit the kids at Rainelle. Since the begin of the Run we have been collecting money for the schools in that town. It was one of the first school “Gunny” Gregory stopped at on his first run from CA of DC in 1989. I am told that these bikers gave the kids a ride on their bikes. Really, bikers , black leather … and kids. This friendship has been there for 31 years and thru many generations.
Temps: 73-94
Route: I-64E
Miles: 252
Quotes: (2 for today)
him he is more than just a name on a wall
