SR Day 1 – Ontario, CA to Casa Grande, AZ

Wed, May 13, 2026

Ontario, CA

Ontario International Airport – Lot D

On Wednesday, May 13, the three Run For The Wall (RFTW) routes that run from California to Washington, DC – Southern Route (SR), Midway Route (MR) and Central Route (CR) – gathered in Parking Lot D.  A number of organizations provided breakfast for the riders.  We in the SR departed just after 7:00 AM with a LEO escort.

Coachella, CA

Shelee’s Travel Center

At Coachella we were greeted by members of the Twenty Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. Active-duty service members from the nearby Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center also participated in welcoming and then sending off the riders.

The sponsors also presented the RFTW SR leadership with a banner.  The lighted sign in this picture is essentially the same as the banner.

Leadership recognized Jake “Hot Stuff” Marshall, who is a Road Guard this year.  Jake’s grandfather, Doug “Sergeant Major” Lyvere, passed and left his Honda Goldwing to Jake.

Blythe, CA

Our next stop was to get fuel at the Exxon in Blythe, CA.  After filling up we rode 3 miles to the Colorado River Fairgrounds for lunch served by volunteers from the area.  While we ate, local elementary school children presented a patriotic program, including the singing of our National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Tonopah, AZ

Our next fuel stop was the Pilot Travel Center in Tonopah, AZ.  While there, the Missing Man Team dedicated the last leg of the day to the memory of Lennie “Big Red” Hodson.  When asked to say a word, one of his good friends noted that Big Red was scheduled to be the Asst Route Coordinator last year, but stepped up to Route Coordinator when the man scheduled for that position had to tap out.

Casa Grande, AZ

Elks Lodge #1957

At the Elks Lodge #1957, several sponsors received plaques recognizing their contribution.  When Karoni Forrester was called on she introduced Dan Deloria.  Dan has lots of experience finding aircraft parts at  The Boneyard (Davis-Monthan Air Force Base) in Tucson, AZ.

Dan was working with Keith Fitch to determine whether the aircraft parts found at a crash site were from an A-6A aircraft.  Keith sent pictures of a section of tire, but the numbers were upside down and looked like 22 when they were actually 55.  Keith sent pictures of another possible tire, but it was way too large.  Dan went through the parts manuals for the A-6A aircraft and determined that it was a fuel bladder.  The A-6A has eight fuel bladders holding about 300 gallons each.  Now that the aircraft was positively identified as an A-6A, the search for remains continued.

The dog tags of the pilot were found.  A credit card for Karoni’s dad, Capt Ron Forrester, USMC, was found.  And a tooth and bone fragment were found with his DNA.  So after 51 years Missing in Action (MIA), Captain Ron Forrester had been found and Gold Star Daughter, Karoni, found closure.

This SitRep is a work in progress.