SUN CITY – Police escorts are generally saved for very important individuals, such as the president, certain celebrities, or foreign dignitaries.
However, from May 17-20, a group of 200 veterans received police escorts as they traveled from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., and even throughout the Capitol area.
Korea Veterans (L to R) Paul Brow, Dick Brush (not pictured), Dick Krause, Gordon Kriechbaum, and Joe Reynolds were selected to visit D.C. through VetsRoll, a transport service that takes foreign war veterans on a memorial trip by bus. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
These veterans, five of whom were from the Sun City area, were chosen to take part in a four-day, all expenses paid trip to our nationâs capital as part of VetsRoll, a nonprofit organization that provides these trips to veterans to view the war memorials.
The Sun Citians to take part were Dick Brush, Paul Brow, Dick Krause, Gordon Kriechbaum and Joe Reynolds.
In all, 200 veterans from WWII and the Korean Conflict, as well as three âRosie the Riveters,â from 20 different states, and a volunteer staff of 140 individuals, which included medical attendants, made the trip.
The mission of VetsRoll is to thank and pay tribute to veterans, particularly those who served in WWII, the most senior veterans and âRosie the Riveters,â by taking them to our nationâs capital over four days of honor and remembrance.
According to Reynolds, while the group eventually made its way to Washington, D.C., the first stop was in Dayton, Ohio, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum: âWe were served a luncheon in the hangar under the wings of B-52 bombers.â
From there, the group traveled to McLean, Virginia, and stayed in Tysons Corners Hilton Hotel.
âOn [May 19], we spent the entire day viewing the war memorials and Arlington Cemetery, where we watched the âChanging of the Guardâ ceremony, all of which were very emotional for all of the veterans,â Reynolds said. âViewing the memorials brought back many tearful moments and we all realized how fortunate we are to live in such a great country, and also how many did not make it back, but died for our freedom.â
Other memorials seen included the WWII memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the National Marine Corps War Memorial.
Reynolds notes the 10-bus caravan had police escorts through each state they traveled through, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. âWe were also escorted throughout the Capitol area, which didnât make the other tourists too happy.â
The May 20 return to Rockton, which was escorted from Belvidere by the Warriors motorcycle club, âseemed like the entire world was there to greet us,â Reynolds said.
âIt was complete with fireworks, bands, and the greatest demonstration of Americans ever,â he adds.
VetsRoll is an annual trip and applications are accepted for any and all interested. For more information, visit the nonprofitâs website at VetsRoll.org.
20 Comments
My/our thanks to Andy Steckling for this very nice article highlighting your residents who traveled with us on our recent VetsRoll 6 journey in May.
VetsRoll is unique in the ENTIRE nation and is headquartered right here in Northern IL and Southern WI. The VetsRoll 7 journey will take place May 22-25, 2016 and will mark our 1325th Veteran and ‘Rosie’ to have taken part in this all-expenses paid, 4-day journey of CLOSURE*GRATITUDE*RESPECT.
God Bless you all for your service and watch for VetsRoll at the Culver’s in Huntley and Carpentersville around Veterans Day 2015!
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