See below for Sit Reps and special thanks.

Above, overpasses in/ner Fort Worth/Dallas. At right is a SMALL portion of the crowd at Duncanville Road. They are growing every year...maybe over 200 this year on that bridge! We appreciate you ALL!

Above, two overpasses in East Texas were loaded with flags and people this year.

We have learned to have the camera ready as we approach the first overhead in Louisiana. These folks greet our riders every year...wonderful!!!

The crowd at the Barak Shriners in Monroe, LA, grows larger every year! What a wonderful welcome and dinner! Thank you so very much!

Above, Cowboy and the Lead Element arrive in Monroe. Above, right, Glenn Scott arrives. Below, right, Greg "Pied Piper" Smith and "Lil' Bit" with Ray "Too Tall" and Kay "Too Small" McDowell arrive.

John McKee sent the following photos from Terrell, TX...Sunday's wonderful mid-morning stop where so many folks come out to greet us:

Below, John McKee's photo from Longview's lunch:

John "caught" Gator, Cowboy, and Slammer, as well as Carl in after-dinner ceremonies in Monroe.

Bill Powell sent the following photos taken in the morning at Weatherford:

Kay "Too Small" McDowell took the following photos, beginning with Preacher offering his daily morning prayer for the riders.

Kay's shot of the Duncanville Road overpass greeters is a better photo of the crowd! At the Brookshire Bros. parking lot in Terrell, the whole town (it seems) turns out to welcome us with lots of snacks and a gas fill-up. Thank you!!

Raytheon was there with a generous support check, too. Oh, how we appreciate that!

RFTW XX, Day 5 - May 18, 2008
Weatherford to Monroe

Good morning Run for the Wall, Day 5. We rose to a beautiful sunrise over East Texas, and started our Sunday with a church service conducted by “Preacher”. We sent out special prayers for Jack Lucas, who remains hospitalized in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We are off to our first mid-morning fuel stop in Terrell, Texas. After fueling we were treated to snacks and beverages provided by the citizens of Terrell. A special thank you goes out to the Run for the Wall Hydration Team; American Legion Posts 517, 453, 165 and 162; Sons of the American Legion Auxiliary; The Lions Club; Brookshires; David from Raytheon Corp; and the Ray Riders who donated a $1,000 check to RFTW. After registering riders we are off to our lunch stop in Longview, Texas at VFW Post 4002.

In Longview we met Helen Smith (81) widow of Allen Gordon Smith, a survivor of the Bataan Death March. Allen passed away April 21, 2000. They were married over half a century and now Helen carries on Allen’s work. Helen is the National Historian of American Ex-POW’s, a volunteer at the VA Clinic, and lobbies for the Military Officers Association in Washington, DC. In her spare time she likes to line dance. Thank you for your many decades of service on behalf of all veterans.

After lunch we departed for a brief fuel stop in Minden, Louisiana and then back on the road to partake of what many riders have been looking forward to since Day 1, our friends in Monroe, LA and some good old Cajun cooking. A huge Thank you goes to Mike Cappel, the Louisiana Coordinator, and Chuck Rand, for his spectacular presentation of the history of the flags of Louisiana and the Confederacy. Chuck is the Historian and Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. At the conclusion of the evening’s event, the riders waddled to their bikes and headed to their various hotels for the evening.

People in the Spotlight, Day 5

Helen Smith of Longview Texas – for her decades of selfless service on behalf of all veterans, past, present and future.

Respectfully submitted by MSgt Steve Hill, USMC (Ret) “Hawgwash”

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 in East Texas:

American Legion Post 163, Weatherford, TX
Terrell Chambers of Commerce, Terrell, TX
VFW Post 4004, Longview, TX

Central Texas RFTW State Coordinator, Janice Wentworth
Central Texas RFTW Assistant State Coordinators, Ben and Cynthia Gurganus
RFTW Louisiana State Coordinator Mike Cappel

Return to Run For The Wall - Southern Route - 2008