I'm Leaving Kansas City, really...

Seems like I've been here forever, and it is only the third day. And I'm lucky to be where I am so, what's the deal?

I arrived in KC expecting to be supported for the night (or two) by a local vet and, upon arrival, discovered that it had broken down. Seeking an immediate alternative, I was able to locate some distant "family." It was the sister of my last stepmother before my father had passed in Kansas City in 1998, and it had been that long since I had any contact with them whatsoever. Imagine my trepidation, knocking on a door not knowing if I would be welcome after so long a time. But after five minutes it was as if I'd last been there 10 minutes ago...a very welcoming feeling.

We spent a little time catching up, then Larry came by and offered me his home for as long as I would be there. I thought two days. It has been three so far and one more to go. Larry, by the way is the adopted son of my father's wife's sister. We were able to spend some time together before his work schedule got in the way but I am grateful for his generosity.

Keep in mind, one of my overarching goals for this journey is to raise money for other needy veterans charities and, the more I have to along the way is less I have to distribute on behalf of veterans, so it is more pragmatic than needy...a big difference.

Although Kansas is far greener now than I am used to seeing it, I must say I've seen a lot more of it than I had originally planned. Coming up from Branson, MO to KC was a delight, especially the stops in Pittsburg (KS, not PA) and Girard, but yesterday's trek to Lawrence, Topeka, St Mary’s, Emporia and Lyndon, then back to KC, was a wearying day...also hot and muggy.

News flask...just got a call from the VFW Post Commander in Richmond, MO, offering me up some hospitality for tonight so it looks like I'll be leaving KC today after all...saves me about 100 miles of driving as well as positions me for less travel tomorrow, both good things. So, today, as soon as I get packed up again, I'll be heading for Belton, Lone Jack, Buckner, Lexington and Richmond MO...gonna be a good day.

And good day to all of you.

Reflections from The First Week...

It has been an interesting week. Informative, rewarding, humbling, eye-opening and a host of other “ing's” too numerous to mention.

I discovered reverence for the past, beyond one's own experience, in the Junction City's VFW posts keeping alive the memory of the Buffalo Soldier, as well as their continued support of the current Army.

I discovered open and overt racism from the '60's in Oklahoma where the town's only casualty of Vietnam, a black Marine, was denied burial in the town's cemetery and was laid to rest in a nearby town. fast forward...not only are those feelings gone today, as far as one can see, but veterans from the formerly all white town now regularly visit the black township's cemetery to assist in the upkeep and maintenance of all the gravesites, not just their fallen brother

I discovered four new memorials (new to me) bringing my total up to 785, and predicting it will climb to nearly 1000 before I get back home.

I discovered how effective a small group of people can be in efforts to help veterans in a small town without a lot of assistance, financial or otherwise, just plowing ahead and getting the job done.

I've met genuine heroes, including one man who was put up for the Congressional Medal of Honor for his battlefield actions only to be awarded a lesser medal. The recommendation of his commander says all it need to say as far as I am concerned.

I met a man who works harder for his community than he does for himself, giving more of his time to community service in a month than most of us do in a lifetime...thank you Mike.

I've discovered that I'm not as homesick as I though I might be and that I am looking forward to each new day as it comes, being in the moment as much as possible. I've found that I have set a schedule that is possible to keep, that I am able to maintain my commitments along the way...that I can actually do this.

And, I am wondering what this next week on the road is likely to bring my way. Thanks for reading.

And a Wave to WalMart...

I'm probably not the first person to wind up in Bentonville, Arkansas with no interest in visiting Wal-Mart’s corporate offices, but it is probably a small fraternity. But I digress...

After my goodbyes to Mike and the gang in Henryetta, OK, I made my way to Rogers, Arkansas, just across the freeway from Bentonville, for a visit to the local American Legion post that generously offered to sponsor my visit.

I was blown away by their mention of "Operation Reboot," a program they developed after a series of happy coincidences, to help veterans once off the street. Apparently, the powers that be decided it would be a good idea to find veterans housing to get them off the street. Unfortunately, once off the street they had four walls and a floor to sleep on and not much else.

The Post Commander, Barbara Aguirre, started taking donation of bedding, dishes, silverware, etc. to try to help out a little. To date, they now have a warehouse and two storage lockers full of donated furniture, bedding, etc…AFTER outfitting nearly 80 veterans over the last 16 months. I visited the warehouse and witnessed Barbara and 11 other dedicated veterans and interested helpers working diligently to assist the next in a long line of needy vets. They are truly an inspiration. They get no money or other support from the State or National Legion Headquarters, or any other source, just plowing ahead the best they can doing the best they can.

I hope the news spreads rapidly and other programs like "Operation Reboot" get started all over the country. Our veterans certainly can use the help.

They also told me of two additional memorials that had escaped my research, one in Avoca and the other in Bella Vista, both on my way north to Missouri. Turns out the Bella Vista memorial is a generic site to all conflicts in our history, not quite fitting my guidelines for the tour, but one that is grand in scope, very well designed and worth visiting. It is no less sacred in my eyes than any other just because it is not Vietnam specific.

Spent the next couple of hours winding my way slowly through two-lane country roads en route to Branson, MO for the night. I found the next place on my list of memorials inside a restaurant, Jackie B. Goode's Uptown Cafe, diagonally across the street from a half-scale replica of the Titanic, complete with bow wave shaped fountain and mock iceberg...go figure.

The owner is a younger brother of a Viet vet who died in battle, for which he was awarded the Bronze AND Silver Star posthumously, and who purchased and renamed the diner for his brother, and set up a memorial wall inside the restaurant. A very moving and personal tribute.

On to Springfield and Carthage Missouri later today.

Well, it is Oklahoma...

Woke up this morning to a deluge of biblical proportions. Heavy rain, a foot of water in the driveway (well, almost), and lightning/thunder. No hail, thank goodness.

I'm sitting in my latest hotel room waiting to be picked up for a pancake breakfast where I am scheduled to speak...not much chance of that happening now.

All in all it was a great visit to this town of 6000, Henryetta, OK. I was, with the help of a man with a lot more energy than I seem to possess, Mike Doak, a Vietnam era Marine. Mike seems to know everyone here, does more community service than actual work, and enjoys every minute. With his assistance, I was able to speak at a Lions Club luncheon and the town's Historical Society monthly event. I think I held my own.

The actual Henryetta Vietnam Veterans Memorial was nothing spectacular, but was touchingly composed on a very peaceful alcove off Main Street and maintained perfectly by the local Woodmen of the World staff, of which Mike is the most active.

Nearby in the smaller town of Clearview, Mike and a few vet friends regularly visit to help maintain the local cemetery where rests the remains of the only Henryetta victim of Vietnam. He is an inspiration to me and to the entire town. Semper Fi, Mike.

Off today for Hulbert, OK and Rogers, Arkansas.

Another first

Yesterday, after a visit to the memorial in Wichita, KS I made it further south in the state to Winfield, just a handful of miles north of the Oklahoma border. Little town, great people. I was able to experiment with the interview process a little. Turned out the best way to do it was to move from the noisy VFW hall to the town's memorial just a block or so away, sit in front of the marble slabs of the V.V. memorial and shoot. I had three interviewees, all with different stories to tell, and hope Ii can figure out how to post it somewhere on online soon.

Today I hop across the border into Oklahoma and mosey on down to Tulsa to meet up with Ray Hildreth, author of Hill 488, the story of a platoon caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, and a compelling read. I've been looking forward to this day for a while now.

A little note about small town America…it is vey common to see vacant storefronts in strip malls and other commercial locations in big cities these days but it is somewhat unnerving to see the same thing in these small towns where small businesses, sole proprietors have thrived for decades, if not centuries. The motel in which I am staying has a NEW list of restaurants available in the city...the first two I tried were already gone. This economy has hit everyone harder than we can imagine. It is supposed to be getting better...I certainly hope so.

Getting a Grip

This trip is going to require more discipline than I am used to exercising...food intake, economical driving habits, taking careful inventory of my "stuff" as I travel from temporary shelter to the next one, but I am motivated to make it all work.

Mornings appear to be leisurely so far (but it is early yet), giving me a chance to relax, reflect and write after a decent night's sleep on the previous day's activity. Right now I am reflecting on my awesomely unexpected evening...but I digress. Leaving Lincoln, I headed due south through some secondary roads all the way into Kansas ending up in Junction City, home of Fort Riley and the Big Red One, or First infantry Division, famous for it's work in Vietnam and other campaigns. I had a chance meeting at the memorial with one of the caretakers of the memorial in J.C., a civilian, former Desert Stormer who ha taken on the job privately, along with some of his friends to do what the city doesn't.

My stay in Junction City was supported greatly by the local VFW Post 8773 and it's Commander Anthony Gibson. This mostly black post was incredibly gracious and welcoming to me...their history includes honoring the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers. If you've never heard of them it would be worth looking up. Turns out they were preparing to take a supply of food to Kansas State U. to feed the cast and crew of the Soldier Show, a traveling group of active duty men and women with particular talents (theatrical). I was invited to go with them, enjoy the show and assist in serving dinner to them after the show. It was a huge treat to me to be able to give back just a little in the face of their hospitality, and enjoy some great performances.

I wonder what other little adventures are in store for me in the days to come. Off to south-central Kansas today, Wichita and Winfield before heading Monday and Tuesday into Oklahoma. Unlike recent weeks Oklahoma looks calm for the immediate future.

The Real Day One

OK...after more than three years of on again-off again planning the start date came roaring in on me like one of those famous Oklahoma tornados. No matter how early you start, how effectively you plan and how diligent you are, there are always those things that absolutely, positively can't be done till the last minute.

That last minute finally ended about 8am yesterday morning, May 31, 2013. Put the last of my stuff into the back of the car and drove away. Guess, in the back of my mind I had always thought there would be a sendoff...a group gathered to see me off...a motorcade or motorcycle escort for a few miles to begin, that kind of thing. I just drove away.

Then the thought really hit me. Why did I deserve anything special? I hadn't done anything yet. Sure, I've visited about 60 memorials in my spare time while traveling, and I've done an alpha and a beta test of the concept, but anyone can hit the road for a week or so at a time. Knowing I won't be home for a whole year is definitely a challenge.

Packing became an art form...down to toenail clippers, an extra bar of soap and other sundries that most people usually leave home when traveling. No travel sized shampoos, etc. The regular bottles are much more economical AND won't have to go through airport security along the way...lol. But it all takes SO MUCH ROOM.

Fast forward about three hours and I am at my first official stop, Sidney, Nebraska. The GPS on my new tablet leads me right to the memorial park. I arrive to find that it is not strictly a Vietnam Veterans memorial but one memorializing the passage of local citizens of several conflicts, all of them addressed separately. I found the one dedicated to Vietnam and started taking photos. While many memorials have repetitive features, this was extremely original in concept. You can see the photos on my face book page at Vietnam Veterans memorial Tour, and I hope you do. Did my prayer, soaked in the aura of the site and left.

I made a pit stop in North Platte only to find another memorial, unexpectedly, right across from the gas station I stopped in…more of a generic memorial to all campaigns, there were unexpected and original memorials to the North Platte GI Canteen and the women who helped support the approximately 6 million military who passed through the Canteen in the day. Another prayer treatment and on my way to Kearney.

Arrived at the VFW Post in Kearney about 4:30pm and met with Jim Lutz the post Commander. The post had graciously offered to host me that evening. After some get to know you time, he and I got into another post member's jeep and headed to the local Vietnam memorial in Apollo Park…a small, simple stone with a brass plaque in front of a flagpole No flag flying, not much maintenance visible on or around the memorial but it is still hallowed ground as far as I am concerned. I'm sure someone will get around to cleaning the marble and shining the brass one of these days.

Back to the post, down to my hotel room for the night, a good night's sleep and up, bright eyed and ready for day 2, visits to Lincoln, Nebraska and Junction City KS. Stay tuned.