Name: Kathryn Ewing
Road Name: Literal E.
FNG Year: 2015
How many All the Way/Participant? Which Route (Routes)? 5 ATW, all Central Route
What is your favorite Run for the Wall memory? I cannot say it is a favorite Run memory, but the place (Angel Fire) and circumstances, and the reason behind it, is forever etched into my heart. I was walking toward the chapel, when one of the FNGs who I had become friends with, quietly told me that night before was the first time since her husband came home from Vietnam, that he had not slept with a loaded weapon under the pillow. This was 2015, and he had come home from Vietnam in 1971. Two things struck me at the time: 1) this wonderful, kind, loving woman had slept next to the love of her life for 44 years with a loaded weapon in their bed; and 2) it was amazing that that much healing could possibly happen in 3 days on the Run.
Positions held as a volunteer on the Run? Registration Team, Registration Team Lead
Military Background if any or relationships with Military? My grandfather, and several cousins
Gold Star or Blue Star family member? my mom was a Gold Star Daughter
What got you to do the RFTW the first time? My sister and her husband hornswoggled me into participating in an adventure
What brought you back? The people and the mission
Have you participated in Rolling Thunder? Yes, once
Are you planning on Rolling to Remember (AMVETS Replacement for Rolling Thunder)? No
Brief Synopsis of “WHY YOU RIDE” I ride (OK, I’m in a cage, but that still counts!) because the Run feeds my soul. Working Registration has the advantage of meeting everyone on the route, being the first person to welcome vets and riders, and sometimes being the first person to ever say to a vet “Welcome Home.” It’s those moments when I realize I am the first person to hug them, to welcome them home, that gives me hope that maybe I’ve contributed just a bit to the start of the healing that they may not realize they need.
HUGS!!!!!! MY TEAM AND A RIDER
