Legacy Run Day 5: A son riding in memory of his father

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American Legion Social Media Manager Steve B. Brooks is following along or getting out ahead of the Legacy Run in what has to be a 70-foot long, 32-passenger Ford Transit, with visual journalists Lucas Carter and Clay Lomneth, to cover the 2016 Legacy Run.

6:10 a.m. – Rev. Ron Moore delivers the daily prayer. “This is not the end of the ride,” he says. “This is just the end of a chapter of what we are doing.”

6:14 a.m. – Jim Fleming, a veteran of every Legacy Run, says the final day of the Run has some sadness. “We’re going to miss a lot of our friends,” says Fleming, a past Department of Texas commander and member of Post 194 in Anna, Texas. “I’ve made quite a few friends I never would have met otherwise. You miss those people after you leave each other.”

6:20 a.m. – Nancy Lay, a member of Post 507 in Ridgeville, Ind., is on her very first Legacy Run. “I wasn’t actually sure exactly what to expect,” she says. “But I found out there’s an awful lot of nice people to meet on the Run. It’s long. It’s tiring. However, it’s great. I’m excited that I made it all the way through. And anything that I can do for a fellow veteran, I’m right in there.”

9:38 a.m. – I nearly drive off I-65 trying to retrieve a box of Hot Tamales I dropped into the deep well next to the driver’s seat. I will never drive another vehicle this large in my life.

11:14 a.m. – Clay attempts to get semis to honk their horns. One does. A few more ignore him. Others look at him like he's insane. Apparently driving a rig the size of the now-pungent Ford Transit doesn't create an instant camaraderie with the other over-the-road drivers out there.

12:19 p.m. – Jerry Wilkins, commander of Post 199 in Harrison, Ohio – the final destination of the Legacy Run – said his post spent a lot of time preparing for the Run’s final stop. But it helps the post hosts two yearly motorcycle events that involve between 500-1,500 bikes. The cause also helps. “We take pride in what we do, and we like to be involved – especially in this particular run because of where the money goes,” he says. “That means a lot to us.”

12:40 p.m. – The ride arrives. Members of the advance team salute every Rider as he or she passes. Classy.

1:05 p.m. – Ken “Rhino” Rynes isn’t too sad to see the ride come to an end. “Everybody is ready to be done,” he says. “I don’t care if you’re going to Cincinnati or if you’re going to Reno. It’s very pressure-filled, very tense. It’s a lot of heavy braking in hot weather. It’s a good cause, but when it’s done you feel like you’ve accomplished a mission and it’s time to relax.” But every second is worth it to Rynes, a past Department of Wisconsin commander. “Getting a chance to meet some of the (Legacy Scholarship students) – if that doesn’t motivate you, nothing will,” he says. “It’s work. It’s scary. It’s dangerous. But it’s rewarding.”

1:11 p.m. – National Commander Dale Barnett has traveled with the Run every mile, sometimes on the back of a motorcycle. It was an eye-opening experience. “This last five days have been an incredible experience for me,” he says. “I’ve been at locations when the ride has come to a post, and that’s one thing. But to be able to go out five days and see the commitment that these Legion Riders have to … the Legacy Scholarship Fund, it’s just incredible.”

1:20 p.m. – For years Terry Woodburn was a fixture on the national American Legion Riders scene. The chairman of the national committee and a veteran of the Legacy Run, riding was a passion to the longtime Department of Illinois adjutant. Terry passed away in 2015, and this year his son Chad went on the Legacy Run for the very first time. “I’d always wanted to go on the ride, but other commitments didn’t allow it,” Chad says. “I’d always wanted to ride with dad. And I know he’s here. When I got to Indianapolis on Saturday and was walking around talking to different people, introducing myself (and) meeting people – ‘Oh, we knew your dad.’ There was nothing but the utmost respect for my dad. There was no doubt he was still here.”

2:50 p.m. – Barnett and others lay a wreath at Post 199’s POW Memorial.

3 p.m. – U.S. Rep Steve Chabot is at the ride’s closing ceremony. “I’m here from Congress,” Chabot says. “It’s like about as popular as the Zika virus.”

3:09 p.m. – Barnett praises the Riders. “These folks came from all across the country for the children that you mentioned,” he says. “And they’ve done some marvelous things.”

3:15 p.m. – More than $47,000 is donated at Post 199 – including $9,000 from ALR Chapter 239 in Worthington, Ohio; and $6,000 from ALR Chapter 16 in Norfolk, Neb. The total raised so far: $555,312.23. Then there’s still the ALR presentation on Tuesday during the national convention. Well done, everyone.