SR Day 5 – Grand Prairie, TX to Monroe, LA

Sun, May 17, 2026

Grand Prairie, TX

Walmart Business Center

After a church service presented by Ambassador Chaplain Joel “Padre” Graves in the Walmart parking lot, a group of us left for the outreach to Camp V in Tyler, TX.

Tyler, TX

Camp V

We were led by Ambassadors Corey “Sun Bear” Lederer and David “Ted E. Bear” Carby.  We had a relaxing and safe ride to Tyler, TX.  Corey presented a recognition plaque to Travis Gladhill, Executive Director.  Travis gave us some important statistics:  From self-reporting, over the past year, 52 veterans who were contemplating suicide are still with us because of the assistance received at Camp V.  And 189 are not homeless, who would be without the assistance they received.  Camp V (Community Assisting Military Personnel & Veterans) is a non-profit that works successfully alongside VA Assistance to provide a “one stop shop” for veterans in need.

I took lots of notes, so I will add to this section over time.

Longview, TX

Exxon

After fueling up at Exxon in Longview, TX, we proceeded to the Longview Fairgrounds.

Longview Fairgrounds

At the fairgrounds, lots of volunteers served us sandwiches, fruit, baked desserts and refreshing drinks including Texas sweet tea.

$5 Marty encouraged us to “Give a veteran a ride” by taking a name and carrying it with us to the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

Before the presentations, sweet Caroline (“Like the Neil Diamond song,” she said.) sang our National Anthem.  She got a rousing response from the gathered riders and my friend Kevin “KMAC” Magill was particularly impressed.  Many people thanked her personally and KMAC asked her to pose for us

Monroe, LA

Shriner’s Hall

We were served a delicious meal of catfish, coleslaw and hush puppies.  There was plenty of sweet tea, water and other hydration available.  As usual, it was one of the best meals of the run.

During dinner, Johnnie “Bravo 6” Huddleston stopped by to ask me to join the Outreach event for tomorrow afternoon.  I was happy to participate and put the green sticker on my windshield to let the Staging Team know where to direct me.

After the presentations were over I went outside and noticed Rod “Reckless” Runyon kicking up his heels a little to the guitar player’s tune.  This young lady joined him for a round or two.

A group of 20+ grateful campers “set up camp” inside the Shriners hall.  After a “bedtime story” by Edward “Santa Ed” Holterman, we started a line waiting to take a shower and before long we were all sleeping soundly.  Some of us were making more sound than others.

This SitRep is a work in progress.