Here is what happened to one of our FNG's in his own words:

In Needles CA., I was given a picture of a man who was missing in action and who's remains were later identified. I was asked to carry his picture to the wall. Although I read his bio, and was touched by the honor, I didn't know him.

Today, after Arlington, and our todo's at the Lincoln memorial, I went to the wall alone, without my friends. I slowly worked my way down the wall, looking for west panel 14 and line number 22 which would contain his name. Upon finding it, I raised the plastic enclosed photo up to match the name. A man behind me offered to use my camera to take a picture, afterwards, I placed the photo at the bottom of the wall and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving and comfort for his family.

As I rose, a woman tapped my on the shoulder, she had tears literally streaming down her face. She told me she had also taken a photo of me matching the photo to the name. Then she told me that she was the fallen hero's sister's best friend, and that she was taking the picture she had taken with her camera back to the fallen man's parents.

I was speechless.

What were the odds of her and I being there at the exact same time?

For those on this list who are un sure of their faith, someone put the photo in my hands and made sure I and she were both there at the same time so that others back home could have healing.
 

2010 Day 11

 

2010 Day 10

We had breakfast at the hotel and went to the water park in Hurricain for staging.  First stop Charleston, WV where the Governor said a few words.  Donuts, coffee, juice and ice water.  I looked for the Vietnam vet that was there to greet us last year and couldn't find him until we were back in the truck and on the way out. There he was saluting as we left.  Then it was time for the twisty road to Rainele and the school kids.  When we arrived there was a lightning bolt and loud crack of thunder.  About 30 minutes later the rain came down and we ran for cover.  It only lasted about a half hour but by then even the lawn looked like a lake.  We ran out from under the rain on the way to Lewisburg and should get a good nights rest for the final dash into DC in the morning.

2010 Day 9

Today we to the VA outside of Louisville and I was reminded of Robby Rex, the WW I Vet that I met there in 2008.  They are naming the hospital after him.  While being parked at the top of the hill I got a call about a broken Goldwing near the front entrance.  The guards lifted the barricades and let us through.  The bike had over heated and was ride able so we put some water in it and sent it to a dealer just 6 miles away.  I had a chance to talk to a younger vet who still had staples in his stomach from surgery .  Next stop was the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial in Frankfort and it still gets to me even after three visits.  Mt Sterling welcomed us with lunch where I met a Pearl Harbor Survivor.  On the way into Hurricain one of our riders crashed and Ken and I took her bike to the dealer.  She went to the hospital and was released the same evening.

2010 Day 8

 

2010 Day 7

This morning we got 10 gallons of diesel for the truck donated by ABATE of  Kansas who also paid the turnpike tolls for us.  We were also met in Kansas City by 28 Motorcycle Police and a couple of cars to escort us through Missouri including a sign truck which followed flashing "Keep Back Motorcycle Escort.   Lunch in Concordia was special with the Apache Helicopter arrival and it seemed like the whole town showed up.  Then off to Wentzville VFW which put on dinner and provided space for our campers.  It was hot and humid and that will continue tomorrow.

2010 Day 6

We woke up this morning and went back to the Armory for breakfast and staging.  The parade back through town was as awesome as on the arrival.  We took off for the first leg of the trip with an additional chase truck which came down from Montana to join in.  After fueling up we started into town for lunch and ended up stopping for a Harley Trike with a trailer that had broken down.  This bike had been shipped over from Hawaii for the run.  We took them to Hays for repairs then on to Junction City for the night.  Last year I had 14 bikes on my trailer and now have had 7 for the first half of the trip.  Right on schedule!

2010 Day 5

We left Angle Fire on a fine but brezy morning and made it all the way to Eagles Nest where we picked up our sixth bike of the trip and took him to Raton where we unloaded him and again had an empty trailer.  The rest of the day we followed the bikes across Colorado and into Kansas in high winds.  Everyone was tired from the long day in the wind and were glad to reach Goodland.  Two bikes even ran out of gas.  We had a fabulous parade through town and along streets with flags planted about every 100 yards.  We made our way to the Armory for dinner then back to the motel,
 

2010 Day 4

We started at the "staging" area in Gallup.  I had told Ken about what a great job the police do to escort us.  As we got ready to leave we were told that there was a "broke bike" in the middle of the pack so we had to wait until they left to load the bike on the trailer and missed the first leg of the escort.  We caught up with the pack and unloaded some of the water we had been hauling since Needles and just as we were ready to leave another bike needed to be picked up.  Again we missed the police escort!  We caught up at the Casino fuel stop and picked up another bike and missed the escort again.  So far Ken hasn't seen any of it.  We took the three bikes to Santa Fe and unloaded them then went to Lowes to pick up some hardware for the trailer ramp and fueled up.  Again we are well behind the escort.  We rode up to Angle Fire and Ken was moved especially at the Chapel and Muesum.  After dinner I noticed the EMT's in the lobby and received a call that a rider was being taken to the hospital and they needed to trailer his bike to the fire station for storage.  It was 10:30 when I got to the room to shower and get some sleep for the 5:00 AM wake up.

2010 Day 3

Even though the main event of the day was an anniversary of my birth we did take time out for RFTW.  My co-pilot managed to set his cell phone up as our alarm clock and all seemed well when we went to sleep.  The alarm went off and we jumped up, maybe jumped is too strong a word.  We staggered out of bed and pried our eyes open, brushed teeth, combed hair and packed up.  As we were loading up the truck we found that we were an hour early!  Oh well, juice, coffee and breakfast biskets and off to the staging area.  We departed Williams on time and about 10 miles down the road came across a trike on the side so we stopped.  We loaded the trike on the trailer and caught up at the fuel stop in Winslow.  We decided to skip the lunch stop and head straight to Gallup where repairs were available for both of the bikes.  We unloaded the trike, checked into our room, grabbed a sandwich and headed out to meet RFTW for the parade through Gallup.  We got to the freeway exit and found a place to wait but things didn't look right.  We were 15 minutes ahead of the ETA but there were no Road Guards and no Police!  RFTW had arrived early and we missed the parade.  We caught up at the plaza for some of the ceremonies and Indian songs and dances.  It is quit a show.  Below are a few pictures.

2010 Day 2

May 18 was the run to Riverside National Cemetery and the going away dinner.

May 19 finally arrived and as usual I woke hours before sunrise.  Spent a couple of hours in Dennys drinking coffee and getting breakfast so I  wouldn't be the first to arrive at Victoria Gardens.  I managed to get the sound truck and chase trucks in the right place then it was time for the meeting.  Ken, my co-pilot arrived and it was finally time to start RFTW 2010.  Our first bike on the trailer was in Barstow, a Honda Shadow with an oil leak.  We stopped on the way to Needles to assist a bike with a broken muffler bracket and followed her into Needles and lunch.  Going through Kingman we were behind a semi that suddenly made a swerve to the right which showed us a bike down in the right lane of the freeway.  I went around the bike and stopped with all my lights on and went to assist.  It was not one of the RFTW riders!  The rider was OK and got all of the pieces back on his bike and was ready to ride on.  Hope he made it OK.  Dinner in Williams after a parade through town and now it is time for a shower and sleep.

Prep and Day 1

This episode started the day before when I picked up the brand new HD Street Glide from Pomona HD and trailered it to the B-BQ.  The bike will be raffled off in June to raise funds for Casa Colina Hospital in Pomona.  Ron Covey, another "Chase Driver", rode with me to Raytheon where we helped set up the display for the raffle tickets.  Raytheon did a great job in setting up the space and getting things ready for us.  I heard one rider say "I'm ready.  Let's go".

RFTW BBQ 2010