The title is a shout-out to my son who suggested that since I’m a retired US Army Captain, I go full Star Trek. My family and a few riders started the day at our hotel with the presentation of a road name for Crysten. Boilermaker (Dan Koster) dubbed her Sunshine. It’s perfect! The spelling on the tape is as you’d expect but Dan is going to change it to Sonshine since the light that Crysten exudes comes from her love of Jesus and He shines through her. Thanks, Dan Koster, you chose well.
Today we started in Nitro WV with a send off from the students of a local elementary school. News media was on hand, and the students were awesome. It is always wonderful to see community leaders and educators reflecting the value of veterans issues to younger generations.
After our departure from Nitro, we rode to the WV State Capitol in Charleston. The visit to the Capitol and its monuments is always memorable. Today’s visit did not disappoint. We were treated to see Ronnie (Rock), one of the Tailgunners from my first ride with another organization that travels through these parts this same time of year. Ronnie waved us in and hugged us all. I’m glad my family was able to meet him. We also were able to speak to a young man who has been coming to the Capitol to greet riders of that other group and ours since he was three years old. He graduated from high school this year. When you view the media gallery below, look for a young man wearing a blue shirt and shorts. Our ride leadership presented cards to him and we all thanked him for coming out. When I was 18, and the years leading up to it, I don’t think I’d have had the presence of mind to do what he’s done all these years. Some of you who know me, might suggest differently since I joined the Army between my junior and senior years of high school, but what he has done takes a long term commitment that few young people have the ability to sustain.
We left the Capitol grounds and made the two’ish hour ride through the WV mountains to Rainelle. The roads were super curvy and the weather was perfect. Our reception in Rainelle was amazing. Once again there was a bit of rain inside my helmet. There were cheering students from the local school, and people from across the generational spectrum lining the streets. We paraded through town with the aide of a law enforcement escort and parked at the Rainelle Elementary School where we were blessed with lunch and a time to talk with the students and faculty. One of the teachers told me this day is their favorite day of the year. She jokingly said, we should just skip all of the others and come straight to the day riders roll into town. Today is my daughter’s 18th birthday, and the school treated her to a birthday cake and the singing of Happy Birthday. We made her give a speech; thank you homeschooling where impromptu speeches are commonplace. Her sash reads “Charlie Mike on my 18th”. Charlie Mike is a military term that means “continue the mission.” Tonight we are resting in Lewisburg WV before we ride into DC. The mission is nearly complete.
Photos are below: the iron bike was purchased and erected at the school through the fundraising efforts of the students. The field of flags is a memorial to all of the West Virginia service members who have lost their lives in battle since WWI. There are about 1100 of them. One flag per person is there on the hill. It is a powerful presentation of honor. As always, click an image to see a larger version.
