Legacy Run Day 4: 'It's all about the kids'
Department of Pennsylvania Commander Mike Stelacio (left), National Commander Michael D. Helm and Pennsylvania Legion Rider President Edwin Dauch salute the flag during a wreath ceremony at the National Flight 93 Memorial on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Photo by Clay Lomneth.

Legacy Run Day 4: 'It's all about the kids'

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In 2014, heavy rains plagued the first two and a half days of the Legacy Run. This year, the weather was – according to many of the ride’s participants – perfect.

But rain or shine, Legion Rider Sharon Sculthorpe would have been on the Run. A member of the ride’s advance team in three of her four years participating in the cross-country charity ride for the children of fallen U.S. servicemembers, Sculthorpe is dedicated to being a part of the Run.

“The weather this year was sunny, not too overly hot,” said Sculthorpe, a member of Post 2 in Petersburg, Va. “Last year was not even good weather for ducks. But rain or snow or whatever happens, we’re going to keep going. This is all about the kids. That’s why we’re here.”

This year’s USAA-sponsored Legacy Run, the 10th overall, covered nearly 1,000 miles and made its way through Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania before ending up at Legion Post 22 in Towson, Md. Nearly 300 motorcycles finished the ride, wrapping up on the outskirts of Baltimore Aug. 26.

National Commander Michael D. Helm left Indianapolis with the ride and rode on the back of five different motorcycles over the four days.

“What a great ride,” Helm said. “A lot of good things happened. A lot of fun things happened. I’m also going to value this time: Being your national commander and spending these four or five days with you.

"It was a lot of fun but (also) a lot of emotion. We honored a Gold Star mother and father before we took off at Post 64 (in Indianapolis). There were two or three Gold Star families on this ride. It’s pretty special.”

Helm said the Legacy Run provides “excitement of coming together from all over the country and doing that. But it’s the cause that we’re doing it for.” That cause is raising money for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund, which provides money to attend college to the children of U.S. military personnel killed on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

On the final stop, donations came in totaling more than $58,000, including more than $18,000 from the Department of Delaware and more than $13,000 combined from Post 22’s Legion family. That raised the total to more than $436,000 brought in this year heading into the national convention. Last year, more than $500,000 in donations came during the convention, bringing the total to $1 million.

Heading up the ride for the second straight year was Department of Virginia Legionnaire and Chief Road Captain Robert Sussan. A member of Post 177 in Fairfax, Va., Sussan said he learned a great deal leading the Run for the first time in 2014. He said communications improved to the point where “this year we perfected it, and next year it will get even better. Our first day was the best first day we’ve ever had, and I think that was the communications.”

The final day included a stop in Somerset, Pa., for a ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Stops like those, which occurred daily, meant a lot to Legion Rider Rollie Ott – as did lengthy stretches of riding along more rural roads.

“We were back there in the country seeing the people who support this nation and support The American Legion,” said Ott, a member of Post 340 in Morse Bluff, Neb. “You can’t believe the outpouring we witnessed as we came through the countryside."

Once arriving at Post 22, ride participants were treated to a meal of pit beef, pit ham and grilled turkey sandwiches, corn on the cob, coleslaw and Maryland crab soup. Dozens of Post 22 Legion family members were there to greet the ride.

Post 22 Commander Fred Hofferbert said a lot of planning went into hosting the event. “We were very fortunate,” he said. “We’ve got some very good people … at our post. Great volunteers, and they’re our biggest asset. I couldn’t have done it without the volunteers.”

Hofferbert said his post was honored to serve as the final destination for the Legacy Run. “It’s beyond cool,” he said. “We really cherish the opportunity to really do something good for the Legion, and certainly the Legacy Run is just so very … what it stands for is such a good cause: helping the kids of servicemembers who have been killed in action since 9-11. To us, what better way to honor those people (than by) taking care of their children?”

For Sculthorpe, that cause is personal. “I served in the Army, and I have lot of friends who have lost their spouse, children who have lost their mothers and fathers. It’s very near and dear to my heart to do this every year: To send these kids (to college) and to help let these families know that their sacrifice isn’t forgotten. I know it sounds very cliché-ish, but once the fanfare ends and everybody goes home, those people are left with nothing but the walls closing in. A lot of time all they need to know is somebody still remembers and cares.”