Legacy Run Day 2: Much more than a passenger
Department of Delaware Legionnaire Jeffrey Crouser has ridden in all 13 American Legion Legacy Runs. And on each of those, his wife Becca has been right behind him on the back of his motorcycle, serving a variety of roles that make her husband’s job that much easier.
The pair, both members of Walter L. Fox Post 2 in Dover, Del., team up to serve as a road guard for the ride. Communicating through wireless headphones, Becca serves as an extra set of eyes while her husband can focus on the road ahead.
“An active passenger is very helpful to a rider,” said Becca, a U.S. Air Force veteran and member of the Department of Delaware’s Audit and Convention committees. “I can give him water. I’m looking for traffic. When we’re doing the Run from the back of the flight all the way back up, he’s looking directly ahead of him. I'm looking way out to say ‘hey, your shoulder’s going to run out in 300 yards. We need to get over.' Or there’s a big stick (in their path) or something. You’ve got to be an active participant while you’re riding.”
Jeffrey, Delaware’s past department commander and soon-to-be National Executive Committeeman, said it’s invaluable to have Becca behind him – both as a fellow road guard and as his wife. “When we travel she’s always tracking the weather,” he said. “We’re keeping (Chief Road Captain Bob Sussan) informed on what’s going on with the weather. It’s invaluable. Honestly and truthfully, I’d be lost without her.
“And it’s great having her with me all the time. She’s my best friend.”
Becca said she and Jeffrey look at the Legacy Run as a “working vacation. It’s a labor of love. You do it because you want to bring recognition and free publicity for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund for us to raise money.
“It’s a lot of work. But you don’t remember the work and the rain and the cold – until it happens the next year.”
Rocky and Karen Adkins, also from Dover Post 2, have been on eight Legacy Runs together – Rocky in the front and Karen right behind him. Before they retired this year, the pair treated the Legacy Run as a vacation.
Karen admitted that in addition to the cause behind the Legacy Run, she has another reason for riding with Rocky every year. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “And it’s more worth it to come than to stay home wondering how much fun she’s having without me.”
Rocky said Karen is a vital part of the ride. “I don’t think I could do it without her,” he said. “Packing the bags, getting organized and getting out on time, she handles all that.”
Special Passenger. National Commander Denise Rohan rode two legs of Monday’s ride as a passenger, including one that included heavy rain and wind. But she was all smiles both on the back of the motorcycle and afterward.
“I know that the rain I experienced today was nothing compared to what they experienced (Sunday),” Rohan said. “What a great day. And I was noticing that people (along the route) stop, they stop and they look, and I am sure they are wondering what is going on. Hopefully they’re turning on their news tonight and they’re going to be finding out about our American Legion Riders and our American Legion Family.”
Rohan’s slogan this year has been “Family First.” The Legion Riders personify that to her. “It is that Legion Family,” she said. “We have the Legionnaires, the Auxiliary, the Sons of The American Legion. They all come together so nicely in the Legion Riders.”
Rohan left midway through Monday’s ride to catch a flight in Omaha to North Carolina to be there for tonight’s American Legion World Series championship game. She will catch back up with the Riders Wednesday and finish the ride.
No Longer a Passenger. For the previous five Legacy Runs, Debbie Bouffard had rode on the back of her husband Roy’s motorcycle. But after the 5,300 miles the pair of Legion Family members from Post 298 in Battle Creek, Mich., covered during the 2017 Legacy Run, Roy had advice for his wife: get her own bike.
And so she did. And this year she is riding her own motorcycle, and despite being surrounded by more than 210 motorcycles, she’s comfortable riding on the Run for her first time.
“I got my Street Glide Special (Harley-Davidson), and I’m having a ball,” Debra said. “The American Legion Riders are my family. No one’s going to let me get hurt.”
Bouffard said she dealt with first-day nerves the same way she used to deal with nerves from another activity. “It was the same thing as when I walked out on stage with over 1,000 people sitting there to sing a song,” she said. “Take a deep breath and go with it.”
Support on 71. Starting from Storm City, Iowa, and in spots all the way into Spencer – the ride’s last stop – people stood along U.S. 71 holding American flags to show support for the Legacy Run. And members of the Rembrandt Fire Department parked four trucks along the road – complete with American flags.
A group of Legion Family members from Post 115 in Storm City and Post 193 in Newell placed an American flag, Legion Family flags, the POW-MIA flag and flags from all five branches of the armed forces along the route to show their support for the Legion Riders who spent most of the day ducking rain drops. Jorge Sandoval, American Legion Riders Chapter 115 director from Storm City, Iowa, joined a group
“It’s the least we can do to show our guys the support, and we’re also representing our community of Storm Lake,” he said. “These guys are raising money for children’s scholarships. It’s a big sense of pride. It’s unexplainable. You can feel the brotherhood. They’re all there for a good cause.”
The Final Stop: The ride pulled into the Department of Iowa’s first American Legion post, Post 1 in Spencer, at 7:15 p.m. local time. At the nearby Iowa National Guard Readiness Center they were greeted with a contingent of Legion Family members, local media, a proclamation from Mayor Kevin Robinson, various law and safety enforcement officials, and a spaghetti dinner.
Spencer, Iowa, Post 1 Vice Commander Mike Baartman began planning for the stop in April, contacting local law enforcement, media and finding workers to help with the dinner. But the hard work was worth it. “I think (the stop) is the greatest thing to happen to Spencer, Iowa,” he said.
More Donations. The money continued to roll in for the Legacy Fund. During a lunch stop at American Legion Post 100 in Marysville, Mo., Sons of The American Legion Past National Commander Joe Gladden presented Rohan with checks totaling $47,500 from the state’s Gold Star Legacy Run. A total of approximately $67,716 was donated Monday, bringing the two-day total for this year's to $195,471.