Day 6 – May 18th – Grand Island, NE

Des Moines VA Medical Center – Des Moines, Iowa

Sunday May 18th, Grand Island, NE (Day Six)

State Coordinator: Bill Luft – NE & Patrick Martindale – IA

Locations:

Begins in Grand Island, NE, goes through Council Bluffs, and we stop in Des Moines, IA

Weather:

It was actually warm this morning, 56 degrees when we took off. A storm is expected to move in tonight, but any severe weather is not predicted this far north (hopefully).

Agenda:

Bayless Park Wreath Ceremony, Council Bluffs, IA

Before leaving for Bayless, at breakfast, Dede, a Nebraska local, told us the story of her uncle and what his memory meant to her. She recently inherited the flag awarded his at his death. More recently good friends gave the flag an official folding, and this morning Dede was presented with a flag-size shadow box.
Perfect riding weather but less than perfect road conditions. The good news is, next year after all this construction the roads should be perfect!
Bayless Park has become one of my favorite places we stop. The park is filled with monuments and memorial sites; the veteran’s memorial is extra special. I’ve included several pictures of statues (one viewed from above the wreath laying image) and one monument.
In addition to the wreath ceremony and the playing of taps, we had the privilege of awarding another Freedom Medal to Officer Pengra, one of our police escorts.
We enjoyed the park as we crossed the square to the Masonic Lodge for lunch, where we were greeted by each member with a handshake and a welcome. A warm welcome, a hot lunch, and cold beverages; what more could you ask for. We enjoyed renewing friendships and making new ones.
As JackWagon handed out certificates two notable things occurred. First, Wayne Schuler informed us that Larry Poffenberger was in the hospital. He had with him a framed collage of photos NVAR made up for the COVID years we missed. Wayne asked if we could all sign the back so he could take it to Larry. He set a pen beside the frame and people put down their food and jumped up to sign it without delay.
Second, and maybe less notable to others but not to me, was when a man was introduced and he pointed to two of his three children he’d brought with him to the event. He said, “I brought them to teach them respect.” I took that to mean to respect the veterans, those in military, or law enforcement (or all three). I think it struck me because just minutes before I had taken a picture of the back patch of one of our riders (picture below). The back patch read, “THE NATION THAT FORGETS ITS DEFENDERS WILL ITSELF BE FORGOTTEN.” This not only the sentiment from the back patch, it’s the reason NVAR exists. But now, seeing in real time, a father taking steps to ensure his children do not forget, and that they respect the service of those that paved the way to their freedoms…well, it warmed my soul.

The Freedom Rock, Adair County, IA

As we approached the parking lot across from The Freedom Rock, we could see the Schneider Ride of Pride truck parked there waiting for us to arrive. Patrice and her daughter Naheena (pronounced Ni’-en-na) were swamped with hugs. It was so good to see them again this year.
Bubba was not at the Freedom Rock during our visit this year, he has become quite in demand to paint more rocks and murals with a goal to one day have a Rock in every state.
In his place JackWagon gave us a brief history of The Rock and we spent several minutes taking our picture with friend in front of it. Our visit is always too short, but this year it was just right…just in time to have the traffic backup from an earlier accident to be cleaned on Interstate 80, which enabled us to stay on schedule.

Des Moines VA Medical Center, Des Moines, IA

The weather was warm so we were greeted with lots of veterans that had come outdoors to greet us as we rode in. We broke up into groups to hand out pins, give them thank you notes children had made for us to hand out, a thank them for their service.
I was with a group that when into the hospice facility. In the ninety minutes we were there I was able to visit with six veterans and also give pins out the staff that serve our veterans.
I also carried the two quilts to some veterans from the quilters in Colfax, CA. One quilt went to a man who likely had very little time remaining. Initially I thought, “He won’t get much use out of it,” but then I considered the family—the son and two grandsons we met who were holding vigil in his room. I knew the veteran, Frank, would enjoy it and I hoped it would bring the family comfort knowing it represented that their grandfather was appreciated for his service and was not forgotten by his country which he served.
On our visits we say some residents being wheeled to the windows to see what all the noise was, and to check out the motorcycles. So it was likely a special treat when Headdog led the whole group on a circle around the parking lot before pulling out onto the street. Lots of honking and revving of engines was our way of saying, “Until next year.”

AMVETS Post 2, Des Moines, IA

On the drive to the AMVETS Post, the road guards did an excellent job of keeping cars at bay. One of the group captured a picture of a coup of the road guards, see below. They really are an extremely skills group of riders. It’s a pleasure to see them at work.
We practically filled the parking lot at the Post this year. Inside there was lots of room for all and the food was ‘good and plenty’ (if you’re old enough to know the term). No one went hungry. We watched a short video of Mike Rinowski reciting a poem he’d written about world travel, specifically to post-war Vietnam.
And finally, we were treated to a brief ceremony for an young Nathan Tischer who was earning his Eagle Scout badge for constructing a firepit for the purpose of retiring US flags. They also dedicated the firepit at this time. In addition, the Post now has a plaque honoring Nathan for the initiative and effort to complete this project for the AMVET Post.

Thank a veteran today,

Thank You – Libby Worden – Sitrep Admin