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Ontario, California. May 16, 2022 – “Getting Our Minds Set”

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

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