Making Memorial Day Much
More Memorable
COFFEE
& DONUT DONATIONS NEEDED: ABATE Locals from
throughout
California
will be hosting a Coffee and Donut Tent at the
starting point of Run For The Wall on May 18, 2005.
6-8
AM
at the T/A Truck stop in
Ontario
,
I-10 @ Milliken. No cost. No politics. No recruiting.
Just a nice thing to do for our nation’s heroes and
their supporters. Please contact Robert at
909-574-8909 if you would like to donate money,
donuts, coffee, supplies or time as a volunteer. Any
and all donations are greatly appreciated.
Memorial Day started out as “Decoration
Day”, a day proclaimed by General John Alexander
Logan to be set aside for the decoration of the graves
of soldiers who died during the Civil War. Following
World War I, observances began to honor those who died
in all of
America
’s wars, including the Revolutionary War and the War
of 1812. Congress
made Memorial Day a national holiday in 1971 and
officially set the observance to fall upon the last
Monday in May. Congress
thought having a three day weekend would be a
wonderful thing for workers, but somewhere along the
way, I think the ungrateful among us have turned
Memorial Day into a 3 day sales event. A time to save
money on tires, get liquored up and watch the Indy
500. Me,
I’ve found a couple of different ways to pay respect
to our nation’s heroes while doing what I do best,
RIDING.
Back in the 90’s, I stumbled across an event
called, “Run For The Wall.” RFTW is a
cross country motorcycle ride that starts in Ontario,
California on May 18th and is designed 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), and to honor the memory of those Killed in
Action (KIA). RFTW
is one of the most awe inspiring rides I’ve ever
participated in. You will never see more flags dancing
with the wind than you’ll see on this run. As the
ride slowly meanders eastward across the country, it
collects more and more riders as Memorial Day nears,
and eventually runs into another incredible ride,
“Rolling Thunder”, which boasts hundreds of
thousands of riders, in a parade through Washington,
D.C. to heighten public awareness to the plight of
Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action from
wars, both, past and future.
ABATE of
California
used to provide free coffee and donuts to Run For The
Wall participants a few years back. When Breeze,
Groovy and I rode to
Ontario
for the 2004 event, we came to wonder whatever
happened to that noteworthy program. We decided
we’d have to look into it and see if we could revive
that program in 2005. Some of the Vets riding in RFTW
scrape up all the money they can to make the healing
journey to D.C., and whatever we can do to make their
lives just a little bit easier would make us feel a
hell of a lot better about ourselves. Knowing I have
too many things going on, I asked for a volunteer to
spearhead the effort and Robert Cuthbertson, State
Board Member and President of Local 19, stepped
forward to accept the challenge. I know he’ll do a
great job, and I’m forever grateful. This one
isn’t about raising money or licking the lid law;
it’s about providing a simple creature comfort and
doing what’s right for a great group of admirable
folks. I
hope many of you will take the morning off of work and
come out and visit. If you can’t make it, but would
still like to help, please make a donation to help
purchase donuts, coffee or the fixin’s. Together, we
can show RFTW participants that ABATE cares.
Another great event that my ABATE Local
supports on Memorial Day is West Coast Thunder. It’s an
incredible event hosted by Skip Fordyce Harley
Davidson and the Inland Empire Chapter of the Harley
Owners Group. This
will be the 6th year for the event and
I’m bettin’ there’ll be close to 5000 riders in
attendance. It’s one of the most well organized
parades around and it seems the entire city lines the
way, people of all ages waving flags and giving riders
the thumbs up. It’s a real tear-jerker,
representative of the
America
I remember growing up in a long time ago. The group
ride takes you to the
Riverside
National
Cemetery
for Memorial Day services, followed by a ride to a
local park for vendors, food and the standard bike run
fare. WCT has become so huge; they’re turning it
into a 3 day event this year. All monies raised
benefit the
Riverside
National
Cemetery
.
Last but not least, is the easiest, and
probably the most meaningful thing you could ever do
on Memorial Day; Adopt-A-Veteran. Pick up a couple of
those hand-held American Flags, hop on your bike and
take the long scenic way out to a
National
Cemetery
. Along
the way, take time to reflect upon all the things
you’re appreciative of, things you wouldn’t have
in any other country. Once
you’re there, look around for a headstone with no
decoration, and there, Adopt-A-Veteran. HONOR a
Veteran. Spend some time in remembrance and
appreciation for the selfless sacrifices that someone
else made so that you and I can ride around in a free
country, still the greatest country that ever was. I’ve been
doing this for years. I even started doing it for
friends who have relatives buried somewhere nearby,
but are too busy to visit. I’ll run my
fingers across the name on the headstone, and get to
know them for a little while. Next, I honor their
memory by planting a bold new Flag, representative of
the freedom they fought and sometimes died to defend. Then, silently
I’ll whisper, “Thank You.” It
always makes my Memorial Days that much more
memorable, and I hope yours will be too.
Visit the Run For The Wall
Website: http://www.rftw.org/
Visit the Rolling Thunder
Website: http://www.rollingthunder1.com/
Visit the West Coast Thunder
Website: http://www.westcoastthunder.com/
