ROLLING THUNDER XIV
MAY 27, 2001
This was my second year to participate in Rolling Thunder over Memorial Day Weekend in Washington D.C. and I don't think I know where to start this page. First, I must say that if you have never attended the events at Rolling Thunder, GO!! I wish there was a way that I could fully explain the events, the people, the run, the rally and the brotherhood, but I could never put into words the real meaning of Rolling Thunder.  Being a part of Rolling Thunder has become so important to me that I wear my Rolling Thunder jacket to every event I attend, whether it's with the American Legion, the VFW, the VVA, the VVI or on National TV!!  Rolling Thunder is NOT a biker or motorcycle club!! If you care about our Veterans, our POW/MIA's and your Freedom, than all I can say is Rolling Thunder XV will be held during Memorial Day Weekend 2002, and you need to be there.  You don't need a bike, and you don't need to be a Veteran to care or to attend. Rolling Thunder never leaves you, it becomes part of you and I could sit here and type and type and type and I would never be able to fully explain what it is like to be at Rolling Thunder.  If you have never been there, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, think about joining us next year...............To Sgt. Muller and John Mendes, thank you so much for everything you have done for me, you will always be very special to me and I will never forget everything that you have taught me. 
Of course the first day that we got to D.C., we had to play tourist!! That's my mom and my grandma on the left and me, my twin brother Nathan and Nathan's friend Ben, after we visited the White House!!
And here we are at the American History Museum. I'm practicing to be the President and Ben and Nathan are practicing to be in my Cabinet!!
After seeing all of the sites, we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial to wait for everyone from "Run For The Wall" to pull in!!!
The first picture is all of the women from RFTW who made it "All The Way!!!" and the other picture is me and Marla Brundies from Iowa!!! We've talked on the phone a few times, but this is the first time that we met!! Marla presented me with my own "Run For The Wall" vest!! The people with RFTW have a great Message Board too, make sure you check it out!! There is a lot of great info on the Board and LittleMac makes daily posts of the MIA's for that date!!
http://webkat.org/discus/messages/board-topics.html
After we left the Iwo Jima, we went to the Lincoln Memorial for the famous group photo!! I rode in with Marla and you guessed it, it poured down rain!!! That's me with Marla, right up front, in the first row!!! Then a few of us went to The Wall because we had something very important to do!!! My friend, Big Daddy, couldn't make the Run this year, but he asked me if I would do something very special for him.  Big Daddy "found" a Silver Star at a flea market, he couldn't leave it there so he bought it.  He tried to find who it belonged to, but didn't have any luck, so he asked me if I would leave it at The Wall for him.  I told him of course I would and I asked a few members of RFTW to go with me.  My mom was talking to LittleMac one day and he told her about a few special people on The Wall and my mom told him that we would leave the Silver Star at their panel.  LittleMac sent us a beautiful letter to leave with the Silver Star and we put it in a frame, so it could be left with honor. 
When we got to The Wall, Marla asked my mom to see the letter and she started reading it out loud and a whole group of people gathered around to see what was going on. Something very special happened when Marla was reading the letter.  It had poured down rain and was cloudy and grey, but when Marla read LittleMac's letter the sun broke through the clouds and
was shining so bright that it glared into my mom's camera. I knew from that moment that the Silver Star was where it belonged and that there were a few soldier's who were very proud of us that day!
Marla and I then left the Silver Star and the letter at panel 05E and I was so proud to have been able to do this.  Thanks Big Daddy for trusting me to do something so very special for you and thanks LittleMac for the beautiful letter, the Silver Star is where it belongs....Mission Accomplished!!!
After we left The Wall, we ran into Stump who came the whole way from Nevada!! Stump even made sure that the POW/MIA Flag flew in a very special place on the way to D.C. (way to go, Stump!!!) This is Marla, me, one of Stump's friends, Stump and Hawgrider, who came the whole way from Arizona!!!
Then we ran into Sizzmo' who came the whole way from California (she really made it all the way!!). This is Marla, Sizzmo' and me!! Sizz gave me a great RFTW T-shirt!!!
Friday night we went to the Candlelight Vigil at The Wall and it was absolutely beautiful.  Thousands and thousands of people honoring the 58,226 men and women who are listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial....they are all heroes and their sacrifices for our country will never be forgotten.  Saturday was raining all day and we went to the Harley Davidson in Ft. Washington, Maryland, but the weather wasn't really that great, so we went back to the National Mall because I had someone I had to visit!!
I went right over to visit with Mr. Ron Stout at his booth!!! Mr. Stout is the one that drove the whole way to my school to donate T-shirts that we could sell to raise money for my school to go to the Veterans Center on Veterans Day!! Everytime I am in D.C., Mr. Stout is one of the first people I visit!!! This time, he gave me a hand carved wooden motorcycle that was made in an orphanage in Vietnam.  Thanks Mr. Stout, it is beautiful!!!
If you are ever in D.C., make sure you vist Mr. Stout's booth and tell him that Nikki sent you!!! The weather was still pretty miserable (can't you tell how soaked I am in my Harley rain coat????), so we went back to the hotel so we could get ready for the Rolling Thunder Banquet!!
On the way out of the National Mall, we met Tim and Sandra, they are from New Mexico too (sorry I missed you Mudflap!!). This is Shasta's mom and her step-dad and I talk to Shasta on the phone and we email each other!!! I was really glad that I got to meet them.  They gave me something special that Shasta sent for me and I gave Shasta one of my pins!! Thanks Shasta!!
Saturday night we went to the banquet and I got to see Miss America 2000, Heather French Henry again and I met her husband too!! I talked to her for awhile and told her that she will always be an inspiration to me for helping our Vets!!! The banquet was so crowded that we went outside the room and of course my buddies were there, Rolling Thunder PA Chapters 4 & 5!!!!
Rick (the Prez of Chapter 5) was having a good time with us and Ron was suppose to be watching Powmia, but I don't know who was watching who!!
Rick has a really bad eye and had a lot of surgeries too.  Nathan and Ben thought they would cheer Rick up and show him that his patch was pretty cool!!! They have very proudly earned the title of the "One eyed Batman and his two Robins!!" Don't worry Rick, you're still the best even if you can't hear cause you only have one eye!!!
We thought we would make one more trip through Thunder Alley and I'm really glad that we did!! I got to meet Diane Carlson Evans, the founder of the Vietnam Women's Memorial!!! Remember our women that served, they are heroes too!!!
Let the Thunder be heard.....Rolling Thunder XIV
The first thing we did in the Pentegon parking lot was take a group picture!! That's my mom, me, Marla, Nick and Hawgrider!!
We went over to Marla's bike and that's me and Marla talking and the picture above is me sitting on Marla's bike "just waiting for the parade to start." (That was for you Stump!!!)
This is the best!!! Here I am really waiting for the Run to start and guess whose bike I'm waiting by!!! Bet ya never guess!!! It's Paul Revere's and I got to ride in with him!!! I was so honored to be able to ride in this year with Paul Revere and I am so grateful to him and the Raiders for their new CD "Ride To The Wall", which is helping our Veterans. Paul Revere told me that it's a good thing that we didn't fall down, but he did great and we had a great time.  Thank you so much Mr. Revere, you to are very special to me and I'm glad I have a new "Uncle"!!! Thanks for everything you are doing for our Vets and for the ride too!!! 
Ok, check this out!!! That's me on Marla's bike....I really think I need one of these!!
The ride was the best!! There were people supporting the run lined up on every street!! And after we parked the bikes we were off to the Rally!! This is a fly-over that started the Rally, it was beautiful!!!
Here is Sgt. Muller speaking at the Rally while the Gold Star Mothers, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Secretary Principi listen to his great speech!!
And here's the Secretary of the VA, Anthony Principi speaking at the Rally!! That's me and Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000 in the background!!
This is what it's all about!! Hundreds of thousands of people standing up to support our troops, our Veterans and our POW/MIA's, for as long as it takes!!
These are a few pictures of me on the stage at the Rally!
And these are a few pictures of me on the stage from C-Span.
If you can't make it to join us in D.C., the next best thing is watching it on C-Span!! The Rolling Thunder Run is held every year over Memorial Day weekend, BUT Rolling Thunder's mission is NOT once a year!! Rolling Thunder is committed to helping our Veterans and our POW/MIA's 365 days a year!! 
The rally was the best and I was very proud and very honored to be a part of Rolling Thunder XIV!! After the Rally, Paul Revere and the Raiders took the stage and played all the great songs from their CD Ride To The Wall!! If you haven't bought this CD for yourself yet, visit the link at the bottom of this page, you gotta get this CD!!!
Hey......there's me, Marla and Paul Revere in the Pentagon Parking Lot waiting for the run to start!!
Because Sgt. Muller and Mr. Mendes have always supported me so much and because they are very important to me, the last thing I did before we left was present each one of them with a special pen that I had made that has the POW/MIA letters on it.  Thanks so much to Sgt. Muller, Mr. Mendes and Rolling Thunder National for everything you have done for me!!!
Rolling Thunder has become very special to me and an important part of my life and I am very proud to be a member of such a wonderful group of people who care for our Veterans and our POW/MIA's.  You can join us too!! Please visit the links below for more information or to order Paul Revere and the Raiders Ride To The Wall CD!!! See ya May 26, 2002 at Rolling Thunder XV!!