RUN FOR THE WALL

(this will be a long post...so yall keep scrolling)

Run for the Wall an event held at the HARLEY DAVIDSON SHOP here in Jackson, MS was another great success. This show was OUTSTANDING. I was told the reports were that approximately 22,000 people came to the show to see everything. There were over 500 motorcycle riders Monday that came thru on their way to Washington DC. The Static Displays were awesome... the details everyone created outside certainly made this one of the best shows ever. There were displays inside as well, and our own Greg Bingham displayed an impressive 1944 Harley Davidson motorcycle! One of the first old/military(Harley)bikes displayed...everyone was thrilled to see it.


Most of our club took on the Vietnam/Korea area. Daniel Boyd has a great display for Korea...a tent with lots of uniforms, weapons, and other items that were used during that time. He had maps and radios... his Duce and jeep. There was another Jeep parked near the Korea area... a wonderful Jeep. I did not meet the owner... but he did an impressive job. Thanks for sharing it with us.


In the Vietnam dislay, Jasper, Jimmy, Mike, Doug, Richard, and Steve helped with this. Jasper did a great job explaining what the "big gun" on Mikes mule was...then assisted in demonstrating...Mike had more fun setting off the recoiless than anything else! ...and...i might say EVERYONE coming to that area LOVED the blast! Now Jimmy, enjoyed having small detonators spaced out behind his tent... to catch the element of surprise.... IT WORKED! we all "jumped" everytime it went off.


here are a few other random shots of some other displays.


i also enjoyed seeing some of the "old" stuff. I would label them, but i am not sure i will get them correct. Let me say...i am grateful for "Maytag washers!"



oh...and my son played his horn...(i have to include that!) he played taps, reveille, and some other stuff.


oh... and the parachutes! awesome. if you missed this... man...you missed out. this was a great display of talent.

I also ran into a cub scout group from Pack 99 in Byram. This was the pack my son started in before he moved on to Troop 99 and earned his EAGLE. These boys looked like they really enjoyed there visit there. They were part of the opening ceremony and shot the cannon. GREAT JOB!


Inside the Harley shop were so many VIP's i can't begin to list them all. They had POW's, Pearl Harbour survivor, most decorated officer, congressional medal of honor... the list goes on. Here is a pic of 2 of the Congressional Medal of Honors...

and one of the dirty thirteen

Navajo talker


Here are a few random pictures of the riders coming in....

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE

We just returned last week from the Barksdale Air Force Air Show (May 9,10 & 11). It was awesome! This was my first time attending the air show...and wow! The Jet Truck was so impressive. It was much bigger than the truck we saw at Mound, LA and Hawkins field. the Aeroshell team showed another great performance,the golden knights were just superb, and we also saw some crazy and unbelievable stunts from several different pilots doing the impossible! But, honestly...the BLUE ANGELS were my favorite! This was the first time for me to see them... I hope I can see them again soon!
We were treated wonderfully by the Air Force Base, they saw to our every need! It was warm the first day... and the drinks that were offered were much needed. They also provided us with meals...THANKS!
Here are a few shots of the events.

OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

First let me say that I am not trying to stir up any "political" issues... but I received this story in an email, and felt it was worthy to place on our site. Especially with Memorial day just around the corner. I know this may not be the general agreement of all our members here at DSMV club... but, since I am addressing this blog site I felt I could do this. This story spoke loads to me.

John McCain's remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance


'The Pledge of Allegiance' - by Senator John McCain

'As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.
One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.

Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama . He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.
Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.'

'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'

The article also went on to include a picture (i couldn't get the pic to load) re: Obama at an event....read below.

Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem.
Barack Hussein Obama's photo (that's his real name).....the article said he REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE.