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Run for the Wall
Run For The Wall 2008
Del & Corrie Bumann
Del has sent the 2008 photos, this year's RFTW photos can be viewed by clicking here. Del also sent along a document with this note:
"This story was written and sent to me by Jerry "Evo Red" Eibert, the Founder of the 'Wind & Fire MC Inc.' Jerry was a member of the first RFTW in 1989 and now the 20th anniversary ride. I had the pleasure of Jerry riding ALL THE WAY with me in the First Platoon on the 2008 RFTW. I hope you enjoy his story as much as I did. Del"
Run For The Wall 2007
Del & Corrie Bumann
Run For the Wall XIX began on Wednesday, May 16, from Ontario, CA. Ten days later, on Friday, May 25, the mission was completed as we rode into Washington, DC. This was our second year to ride “All the way” with the Central Route. The weather was near perfect as we rode across 10 states in as many days.
Del accepted the assignment of Platoon Leader the second day out, which added a whole new dimension to the Run. This was our daughter, Karla's second year as a Road Guard.
Click on the photo to enter Del's 2007 RFTW photo gallery
On Sunday, May 27, we joined thousands of other motorcycles and riders in the Rolling Thunder XX.
Click on the photo to enter Del's 2007 RFTW photo gallery
For a complete report of the daily activities, visit:
Find additional pictures at the official Central Route website:
The next generation of Bumann's RFTW - grandson Charlie is waiting until he's old enough to make the ride
Click on the photo to enter Del's 2007 RFTW photo gallery
Kevin Murphy
I wore the 9th Inf patch inside my vest close to my Heart . I wore it across the country on the Run for the Wall in respect for my friend John Vassil( E Co).
XVIII
May 17 through May 28, 2006
Del Bumann
Click on the photo to enter Del's 2006 RFTW photo gallery
“Run For The Wall is an annual cross-country motorcycle Run. Each Memorial Day we ride from Los Angeles, CA to Washington, D.C.”
“Our Mission"
*Promote healing among Vietnam veterans and their families and friends*
*Call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War & Missing In Action (POW/MIA)*
*Honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA)*”
When our daughter, Karla, rode the two day, Gallup, NM to Limon, CO section of the Run For The Wall in May 2005, she convinced me that we had to experience the ride for ourselves. That year we happened to be visiting our son in Roanoke, VA when the Southern Route of RFTW came through there. My wife, Corrie and I, along with our son, Ryan, joined the group in Roanoke as “FNG's” and rode part way to Arlington, VA. We did not go into D.C. with the group, as motel rooms in Arlington were impossible to get by then. I decided then that I would do the entire run someday.
In January, 2006, we made the decision to go “all the way” with the RFTW Central Route, along with Karla. We booked the motel rooms and started making plans.
We left Karla's house in Colorado Springs, CO, early on the morning of May 13. We had four days to get to Ontario, CA to begin the RFTW early in the morning of May 17. Corrie rode with me, and Karla was on her own bike. We took in the sights along the way, spending a night at Moab, UT and passing through Zion National Park on the way. We arrived in Ontario by early afternoon on May 16, registered for RFTW, shopped at the RFTW merchandise trailer, and had patches sewn on our vests.
We were up by 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17, to start our mission with RFTW, Central Route. It was warm and hazy as we lined up at the TA Truck stop by 7:00 a.m. with some 350 other bikes. It would be a learning experience, sometimes stressful, emotional and always challenging. The days were long. We were up by 5:00 a.m. and sometimes did not get to our motel until 7:00 p.m. Most of our meals and some of our gas was provided by generous groups along the way. The organization and planning that goes into this mission is amazing, and we have come to appreciate all the hard work involved.
The fueling of 300-400 bikes in a short time is incredible. We heard one report of fueling 419 bikes in 17 minutes! Groups along the way had great lunches ready and waiting, and everybody was fed and back on the road in an hour or less. Having cold water and snacks available at most stops was a godsend, especially with temperatures soaring into the 100's on some days. The prepared breakfasts and dinners were huge and delicious. There is nothing like “home cooking” to keep one going.
It was truly awesome to see the large number of people lining the streets, waving flags and saluting as we paraded through their towns. And we were amazed by the number of people on bridges, overpasses and along the roadsides, waving flags, saluting and cheering us on.
An incident earlier in the ride stands out in our minds as being almost erie. It was the ride into the Angel Fire Vietnam Veteran's Memorial on day 3, (May 19.) The weather was beautiful as we rode toward Angel Fire. As we came over the last hill nearing Angel Fire, it started to look misty, and just as the parade leaders turned the corner to head up to the memorial, it began to rain. The rain continued until the last bike had been parked, and then quit as suddenly as it had started. The sky remained overcast during our visit, but there was no more rain. It was as if there were tears from heaven as we arrived. Others on the ride remarked that they felt the same way. It is a beautiful and moving memorial.
We had a special visit in Oak Grove, MO with Richard and Linda Strobel from Concordia, MO. Richard and I served together in Vietnam, and they drove over to have lunch with us at Oak Grove. After a short visit, we were back on the road, vowing to see Richard and Linda at our next group reunion in July 2007.
Karla became a Road Guard at Wentzville, MO, so she did not ride in the “pack” after that. She did a great job as the only woman Road Guard on the trip.
Our son, Ryan, and Gina, joined the Southern Route in Roanoke on May 27, and met us when the two groups combined in Tom's Brook, VA that afternoon. On Saturday, May 27, we were especially honored to be among the group of 250 bikes invited to parade through Arlington Cemetery. Once there, we watched the RFTW leaders lay a wreath at the Tomb of The Unknown, and observed the Changing of the Guard. Since motorcycles are generally not allowed in the Cemetery, it was a once in a lifetime experience for us. It was great to have our family with us in D.C. and to be together in the Rolling Thunder Parade.
On Sunday, May 28, The RFTW group met at the Holiday Inn at 6:00 a.m. for the ride to the Pentagon parking lot. Once at the Pentagon, we lined up to wait for the parade to start at noon. As the lot filled with bikes, we were happy that the RFTW group had been assigned to start at row 59, following the Rolling Thunder group and American Legion Riders. We had six hours to wait in the hot parking lot for the parade to start. Many of the riders migrated to a grassy hill overlooking the parking lot to rest and take a nap, or just watch the action below. The “ocean” of motorcycles and people below was amazing! There were several hundred-thousand motorcycles in the lot by the time the parade was to start.
The parade started exactly at noon. Even so, it was 12:35 before our row filed out into the parade route. The streets were lined with people waving flags and holding signs welcoming our veteran's home. It was a great experience. We were through the parade route in less than an hour, and headed to Roanoke where we would spend the next two days with Ryan and Gina, and our 7 month old grandson, Charlie.
Karla's friends, Christine and Doug, reported that they didn't leave the pentagon parking lot until 3:00 p.m., and it took them nearly 2 hours to get through the parade route. A long day for us, but a longer day for them and those behind them!
We left Roanoke on May 31, and made the trip from Roanoke back to Colorado Springs in three days. The first day was warm and sunny, and we put on 500 miles. The second day, however, found us riding through Illinois and Missouri in heavy rain and thunder storms. We also took time to stop at the St. Louis Arch for a tour, something we had always wanted to do. Because of the stop and the rain, we made only 400 miles that day. So, once again, we were up by 5:00 a.m. on Friday, to get through Kansas City before rush hour and make the last 600 miles of the trip. We arrived back in Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon, June 2, making a total of 6290 miles for the entire round trip.
It was a most rewarding experience, and we thank all those who made our mission successful and safe for everyone. We hope you enjoy a small sampling of our photos.
To read our daily experiences, go to: http://www.rftw.org/Central/sitreps.htm Visit http://www.rftw.org for more information on the annual Run For The Wall.
A very special thank you to Del and Corrie for putting together this wonderful presentation of their RFTW experience to share with us.
If you have a high speed internet connection (broadband, cable, dsl) click on the photo to view RFTW.
Once the show has loaded, if you prefer to view the show in full screen format, right click on the screen, and select full screen. Click on the slide to start the show. You will experience a slight delay before the start of the presentation while the show is loading.
We would appreciate your understanding that if you do not have the time to watch the entire presentation to not start and stop it. Presentations use up bandwidth and multiple starts and stops will make it unavailable for others who have the time to view it.
If your internet connection is through dial-up, we do not recommend attempting to view the presentation this way. You can however, view the original version of the presentation from the photo gallery by clicking here. This gallery contains the same photos that were used in the creation of the RFTW show.
We recently had a guest in the Hooch who is a friend of John Vassil (Echo Co 68/69). Through conversation we found that Kevin (aka 4Riden) Murphy,
also attended the RTFW. He actually found himself in a few of Del and Corrie's pictures and submitted some of his own photos of this run. We have created an album of Kevin's photos of the RFTW and they can be viewed by clicking the photo below.
Webmaster note: Corrie and I were trying to find an audio piece suited to this page and she remembered a song written especially for the RFTW that was performed at one of their stops ~ well, after a little search effort Corrie found the artist. Musical selection is "Run For The Wall" by Joey Holiday and is provided for your listening pleasure. If you are interested in a copy of the song, this is a track off the America I Believe in You and Me album please visit his website: www.joeyholiday.com
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