RFTW XX, Day 10 – May 23, 2008
Wytheville to Roanoke

Good morning RFTW XX, Day 10. The riders are up extra early for departure of the final leg of Run for the Wall XX. After a mandatory riders meeting and breakfast at American Legion Hall it was off to our first fuel stop at Fuel City.

Back on the road to our final fuel stop, Loves Travel Center, Toms Brooks. After a mandatory briefing and fueling, the four-wheeled rolling circus along with the trikes and trailers were sent ahead as the riders prepared for the last 85 miles of RFTW XX. Excitement was in the air as the riders arrived in Alexandria, VA to the cheers of the crowd of Advance Team members and the Fuel Team. After the Southern Route finished staging their bikes, it was time to prepare for the arrival of the Central Route, who was approximately one hour behind by design.


People in the Spotlight, Day 10

The Virginia State police because they escorted the run from State line to State line. Your dedication to the safety and escort of Run for the Wall is deeply appreciated. We feel that you are part of the RFTW family and look forward to seeing each and every one of you next year. Be safe out on the roads and keep catching those “bad guys”.

Run for the Wall Recap:

It has been twenty years since Run for the Wall started with a small group of grungy bikers, no money, no support and no schedule but with a solid mission in mind. That mission was to bring awareness to our POW’s and MIA’s. It all started with a vision of a single Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Retired, James Gregory. Little did “Gunney” know twenty years later the event that he started would be the premier cross-country motorcycle journey for veterans from all branches of the service, their families and their supporters. We salute you, “Gunney” for having the vision and for continuing to support this great cause of which you are the founder. We would like to dedicate RFTW XX, Southern Route to Gunnery Sergeant James Gregory, USMC (Retired).

For the riders, thank you for participating, especially the FNG’s, you have now joined a “super class” of veteran riders who have made this journey before and we look forward to you returning next year bringing your FNG’s. There are many people and groups that helped make RFTW the success that it is and we thank each and every one of you too. From the ordinary citizen standing on the roadway waving a flag to elected officials who accompanied us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. A stellar job by our advanced team, our “NASCAR” quality fuel team, our staging team, our road guards, platoon leaders, tail gunners, medical team, chase vehicles and our Chaplin Corps insured that each and every rider had a seamless journey across this great country.

We had the pleasure of having the Honorable Trent Crewe, Mayor of Wytheville, VA accompany us on our last three days of the journey. We salute you Mayor and wish we could clone you among the other leaders around the country.

After our arrival in DC, approximately 150 riders were escorted to the Marine Barracks, Washington, “8th & I” for the Sunset Parade. The riders were given the opportunity to see the best of the United States Marine Corps, including the Marine Corps Color Guard; the Marine Corps Band, “The President’s Own”; the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps, “The Commandant’s Own”; the Marines of Company A and B, with highlights by the Silent Drill Platoon and the USMC Firing Battery/Body Bearers. After the performance, “Hawgwash” had the privilege of meeting the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and the guest of Honor, Emmy Award winning Actor, Mr. Gary Sinise who were presented 20th Anniversary RFTW Challenge coins. Other events for Friday evening included an evening ride to the Vietnam Memorial.

Saturday evening May 24, 2008 the riders gathered at the Arlington Assembly of God Church for a donated dinner by the congregation. Many thanks go to Pastor Reverend Rich Neubauer for dinner this evening. Pastor Neubauer and his church had also provided dinner on Friday, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday along with camping facilities throughout the weekend for the riders. An added feature from the church this year was a shuttle service that ran every half hour around the clock to the hotels, and various monuments and memorials on the DC Mall. Pastor, you have gone above and beyond the call of duty in support of RFTW XX.

It has been a spectacular 10-plus days, and we thank you for the opportunity to report our journey from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. on behalf of RFTW Southern Route XX.

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

Return to Run For The Wall - Southern Route - 2008

The following photos were taken by Polley Berry, John McKee, and Anne Perry. We had our riders' meeting at American Legion Post 3 in Roanoke...a beautiful, large facility with a spacious parking lot. Breakfast was good, too!

Southern Route arrived in Arlington first, then Central Route. Above, left to right, Roger "Cowboy" Mead, John "Ice Scout" King, and Ron "Hammer" Young.

We are thrilled to welcome so many of the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans home!

CMA provided peanut butter sandwiches at Tom's Brook.

6/14/08 - Gary Baird sent in the following two photos. One is of Marines from a color guard at the beginning of the day, and the other is of NuGuy sleeping at the Holiday Inn Ballston in Arlington.