Welcome to
Run For The Wall XXI
Southern Route - 2009
"Service Beyond Self"
Day Two - May 14
Phoenix, AZ to Las Cruces, NM
Sit Reps for Day Two have been added below (5/16)
Exit # Distance Time ETA ETD
Phoenix – Marana 236 93 miles 1:40 9:40 10:20
Marana – Willcox 335 104 miles 1:50 12:10 1:20
TIME CHANGE TIME CHANGE TIME CHANGE
Willcox – Savoy 68 121 miles 2:00 4:30 5:10
Savoy – Las Cruces 140 72 miles 1:10 6:20
Total Mileage 390 miles
This is the LONGEST RIDE day!
This e-mail was sent after the after-lunch drive-by of Willcox Elementary School by Valerie J. Simon, Principal:
"As I write this, your group of riders has just passed through Willcox, AZ, and as they left they were kind enough to ride through the driveway of the Willcox Elementary School. Our students were THRILLED to hear the roar of the bikes and see all of your riders waving at us as we waved to them!!
"Please tell everyone how glad we were that they made time for us this afternoon. And also how grateful we are to each of them for their service to our great country!!!
"I have attached two pictures of today’s event. Our students made a sign in our fence using Styrofoam cups that read, “Run For The Wall”, which they painted red, white, and blue. Many of our teachers also read a book and watched a video about the Vietnam Memorial so that our students would have an understanding and an appreciation of your event.
Many thanks and safe travels to everyone!"
The following photos were submitted by SR Photographer, Ed Kain:
Above, breakfast at the Radison is always a wonderful treat on Day Two! Thank you, thank you!
Above, left, Sixth Platoon Ass't Leader, Bruce "Duck Tape" Officer with Sixth Platoon Leader, John "Hard Charger" Baker. Above, right, Fourth Platoon Leader, Bob "Zoom" Atwell, and Fourth Platoon Ass't. Leader, Phil "Needs a Road Name" Sloan.
Below, Road Guard Captain John "Slammer" Gebhards gives guidance to the Road Guards.
The German shephard above belongs to "Short Stack." He must be great company for one of the chase truck drivers, and hopefully, her only company. Above, right, First Platoon Leader Edwin "Wookie" Craft and First Platoon Ass't. Leader, Carl "Blub" Reeves. Below, left, Fifth Platoon Ass't Leader, Gary "Boogieman" Baird with Fifth Platoon Leader, Carl "Mustang" Hinkle. Below, right, "Okie Dan" Smith, a medic riding with the trikes.
Above, left, Chaplain Richard Moore introduces Erika Brown, just returned with First Cav from Bosnia. RFTW really wants young, active-duty military personnel AND veterans to understand that our riders DO RIDE FOR YOU! Thanks for riding with us, Erika! Above, right, Greg "Pied Piper" Smith addresses the FNGs, all assembled in front of him. Below, left, John "Slammer" Gebhards addresses all riders. Below, right, riders are reviewed (daily) on the hand signals RFTW uses. Since new riders join everyday, this needs to be repeated often.
Above, left, platoons meet daily after the riders' meeting. Above, right, Road Guard Roger "Cowboy" Mead leads out (Phoenix usually provides an escort for the morning exit out of the city). Below, left, First Platoon rides out. Below, right, Ass't Coordinator, Ray "Too Tall" McDowell with Kay "Too Small" McDowell.
Above and below, riders leaving Phoenix. Below, right, the Arizona Highway Patrol escort.
Above and below, riders in the lead element with Jerry McNelly, RFTW's Arizona State Coordinator on the red bike, and platoon groups leaving Marana.
Below, at lunch in Willcox, the U.S. Border Patrol Honor Guard posted the Colors. Below, right, Teresa Goodwin returned to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" without accompanying music.
Above, Willcox Police Chief Jake Weaver. Above, right, Cole Kaiser, one of the RFTW riders who is a retired Marine, introduced his wife's nephew, Eric Burris, active-duty Army. Eric just made E7, Sgt. First Class, and was pinned by a line of ten soldiers from the group of riders. He probably was in a bit of pain after the ceremony. Below, right, is a great photo of the way both routes of Run For The Wall have their lead element run the Missing Man formation.
Above, riders from an overpass. Above, left, fueling in Savoy. Right, the flag at Barnett's Harley-Davidson in Las Cruces greeted us from miles away. Many of the New Mexico Army National Guard always turn out to greet us. We appreciate their service to our country!
Sit Reps For Day Two
Day 2, Thursday, May 14, 2009
Up and at ‘em for the second leg of RFTW XXI. Everyone woke to a beautiful Arizona sunrise and after breakfast we had our morning meetings where several Monkey Butt awards were given out to some very special riders as they demonstrated new and odd techniques of operating a motorcycle. We then departed the Host Hotel without police escort for the first fuel stop in Marana, AZ. Kudos go to the Road Guards for again getting us safely out of metropolitan Phoenix without any assistance from the Phoenix Police. Approximately two hours later, the riders safely arrived in Marana, AZ for the morning fuel stop. They were greeted by a flag line conducted by Patriot Guard Riders of Arizona. The VFW Riders of Picacho Peak, AZ were on hand to provide much appreciated goodie bags for us to munch on along with a generous cash donation to defray our costs as we travel across the country. After the short fuel and hydration stop, it was once again off to one of our favorite stops on the run, the community of Willcox, AZ for lunch.
On the way to Willcox, we were escorted by two Apache Helicopters, and 4 Warthogs. The Apache Helicopters saluted the riders as they went by and the Warthogs flew low circles and were dipping their wings in tribute to the RFTW riders. It was an awesome display of Military aviation at its best. Upon arriving at Willcox, it was great to see one of our favorite law enforcement officers on the Run, Chief of Police, Jake Weaver. After the ceremonies, presentations and lunch, the riders departed for the afternoon fuel stop in Savoy, NM. We do not wish to forget our wonderful parade through Willcox to wave to the children at their Elementary School.
From Savoy, it took just over one hour to arrive at our final destination for the evening, Las Cruces, NM. Dinner was provided for the riders along with presentations at Barnett's Harley-Davidson in Las Cruces. While at dinner, I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Franklin "Jack" Chapman. Jack was a former POW from the Korean conflict and was held prisoner for 32 months and 20 days. As a young PFC, he spent his 18th, 19th, and 20th birthdays in captivity. During this ordeal, he was moved to five temporary camps and two permanent camps and marched for 19 days straight during the bitter Korean winter. Jack recounted to me the enormous loss of life by our POW's. Over 2,600 died from two camps and 500 perished on that 19 day march in the bitter cold. Jack was repatriated on August 20th, 1953 where he boarded a transport ship which sailed him to freedom. One of his first requests when he boarded the ship was for a couple of steaks to eat. He figured he needed 2 of them since he weighed a mere 89 pounds upon release. Today Jack is very active in the Korean War Ex-POW Association and other military organizations in his community. I was very impressed with Jack's candor and willingness to speak of his ordeal that began the year I was born. On the bright side, Jack is sharp as a tack and is willing to sit down and share his story with anyone who will listen. (E-mail me at Hawgwash@bigplanet.com if you would like more information on Jack's story)
All the riders did a great job on Day 2 and a special "Well Done" to the FNG's who have now weathered two days of very high temperatures. We are looking forward to Day 3 where we will transition from the desert southwest, to the rolling hills of West Texas as we move on to Odessa, TX.
The Louis Update [click to see photo on pre-run page]- Louis is enjoying Run for the Wall more than he anticipated. He has spent more time in the saddle than normal so he is nursing a few sore parts of his body. He continues to stay well hydrated and is basically enjoying the camaraderie of his new-found "family". He really enjoyed seeing the people on the overpasses waving flags, holding signs and cheering the riders on during Day 1 and Day 2 of RFTW.
Respectfully submitted by
Steve "Hawgwash" Hill
MSgt. USMC (Ret.)
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Run For The Wall wishes to express its deepest appreciation to ALL supporters, from those who provide support standing beside the road or on overpass bridges as we pass by to those who provide financial support. As always, it is impossible to know and thank all of the kind folks who help us as we cross the United States. However, here is a list of special people and organizations who helped us through New Mexico:
New Mexico Army National Guard, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Capt. Gary Stewart, NMARNG, Las Cruces, NM
Pic Quik, Inc., Las Cruces, NM
VFW 10124, Las Cruces, NM
VFW 6917, Las Cruces, NM
VFW 3242, Las Cruces, NM
City of Las Cruces, NM
Las Cruces Police Department
Las Cruces Fire Department
RFTW New Mexico State Coordinator, Bill Hawkins
George "Dusty" Bayley, President, Rolling Thunder® Inc. Chapter 1 NM wrote on 5/15/09 -
