Indiana Veterans Home – West Lafayette, Indiana
Wednesday May 21st, Michigan City, IN (Day Nine) 
IN State Coordinator: Dan Kuepker, aka Lugnut
OH State Coordinator: Tony Cunningham, aka Squirt
Locations:
- Starting in Michigan City, IN, riding through West Lafayette, and on to Brookville, OH
Weather:
- Big improvement over yesterday. Mostly mist but some light sprinkles. Cool all day, but not overly windy.
Agenda:
VFW Post 2536, Michigan City, IN
- Hot coffee ready and waiting for us to arrive is the gold standard of hospitality, and they have it in spades. It was a party for breakfast. Good food, great people, and hot coffee.
- Mike Stupar, Indiana State Coordinator, gave certificates of appreciation to our escorts, the cooks, the Post, and to our very special singer, “Pipes,” who again this year sang the National Anthem. We also heard from the State Senator, wishing us well on our journey to DC, honoring all veterans.
- This particular stop is very special to one resident of Michigan City and one of our riders. In 2010 Annie was three years old. Wayne gave her a balloon to play with. She traveled with NVAR to DC and frequently got balloons until he ran out. The next year Wayne carried more balloons so as not to run out. Fifteen years later, Annie is 18 and doesn’t play with balloons any longer, but the lasting friendship remains. They always look for each other when NVAR arrives in Michigan City.
- Danny Bruce’s sister was at breakfast. Leveraging from Jerry’s words at the memorial yesterday, she was a fitting reminder that life goes on and we live sheltered under the Freedoms that Danny, and others like him, gave their lives to preserve. This reminds me that a couple years ago the Freedom Rock had an image of the shadow of a soldier standing behind a girl holding a folded flag. Printed on the image was, “Tell them we gave our todays for their tomorrows.”
- Finally, we said goodbye to Mike & Kat Tipton, and Donna. They weren’t able to continue on this year but plan to go all the way in 2026. We will miss them, and Abbey will miss Abby and Diamond. Until next year…
Westville & West Central Schools Drive-Thru, Indiana
- Let just call this KID’S DAY, first “Pipes” then Annie and now we get to go by three schools. The excitement level was not dampened by the drizzle nor the cold. The kids were out in force as well as the teachers and some parents on the outskirts of the school property. Hear the roar of the motorcycles, waving flags—small and large—and reaching out to slap the hand of a rider as they went by was all they wanted from us. We got so much more from them. Their enthusiasm was contagious. It’s encouraging to see so many kids appreciate what we do. Our mission is to foster that when they’re young so they will always appreciate veterans and the freedoms they secured for us today.
- Departing the schools was an enormous flag suspended over the road as we rode out. Just the sight of it swells my national pride. Is it just me, or do flag grow bigger the farther east we ride?
Indiana Veterans Home, West Lafayette, IN
- A light mist sprinkled us as we arrived and parked in the quad area. The vets and the lunch servers were indoors, which was a welcome respite for the riders. Lunch was again very tasty. As HeadDog was awarding certificates, he discovered the woman who cooked 60 pounds of hamburger for the sloppy joes. Everyone clapped in unison, a sort of standing ovation for a great lunch.
- No sooner did we walk through the doors than I saw a friend I’d spoken to in length last year, Joseph. Joseph is mostly none verbal, however he communicates through pre-loaded messages in his tablet. I’m not certain he remembered me at first, but then I showed him the picture I took of his last year with Wayne and Abbey and his face lite up. Abbey was in my lap and he immediately began to pet her. He pointed to the picture of Wayne as if to ask, “Where is he?” I pointed Wayne out to him and we took another photo of the three of them. The four of us had lunch together and he fed Abbey just like last year. My heart is full just thinking of Joseph. I wish I could go back for a longer visit someday.
AMVETS, Brookville, OH
- After a challenging ride on the big city freeway interchanges, all I could say was, “Thank God it wasn’t raining on top of construction, fast vehicles, and lane changes.
- Brookville was a welcome sight for three reasons. First and foremost, seeing friends from past years. Seeing more flags in one city than we’ve seen all across the country in total! And, driving through the streets, seeing people welcome us—coming out of their homes, standing on street corners with their kids and flags, and even the people in the cars stopped at intersections were waving.
- The welcome at Amvets was equally encouraging. To come around the corner and spy the second enormous flag of the day reminds me I’m in The Heartland of the country.
- The opening ceremonies, including a 21 gun salute were held outside since the misty damp was over and the day was drying out. As a result, we were able to eat in the patio area in the back. We ate there last year shaded from the heat. This year it worked equally as well shaded in the off chance that a sprinkle might pass overhead. The best news is, it wasn’t particularly windy. It’s a beautiful place to enjoy a picnic regardless of the weather. This Amvets’ Post is very fortunate to have a striking building in a lovely setting.
- The Brookville Fire Department had their hook and ladder truck out, extended to hold the estimated 15’ by 30’ flag. In the image below is the flag with the Ride of Pride, two spectacles in themselves. Together they really send a great message of the two upcoming national holidays: Memorial Day and Flag Day.
Thank a veteran today,
Thank You – Libby Worden – Sitrep Admin
