Blue Star Mothers join Rolling to Remember ride in Washington, DC
Blue Star Mothers of Minnesota attended National Memorial Day activities in Washington, DC, honoring Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives and the sacrifices their loved ones made. Fifty moms from across the country gathered in Washington, DC, to celebrate the lives of the service members who never made it home and to honor their mothers and wives. Many of the moms arrived Wednesday, May 22, including the delegation from Minnesota. This delegation consisted of Jen Pecarina – Department of MN President, Mary Johnson – Department of MN 3VP, Past Department President and Gold/Blue Star Mother, Pam Dickson – Department of MN Financial Secretary, Terri Hawkinson – Department of MN Treasurer, Karla Keller – Department of MN Chaplain, Past Department President and National 2VP, Jeanne Ullmer – Department of MN Recording Secretary, Past Department President and National Webmaster, and Denise Guerra – Past Department President and National Mentor Chairwoman. Arriving in DC late Wednesday evening, they were greeted by the National Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. President Rebecca Stafford and several other Blue Star “Sisters” at the hotel. It was a time of joy being reunited with these ladies.
Thursday morning, six of the Minnesota moms arrived at Minnesota Senator Tina Smith’s office for Coffee with the Senator. Minnesota President Pecarina shook the senator’s hand, and in doing so, presented her with a Blue Star Mothers challenge coin.
Following the Coffee with the Senator, the delegation arrived at the capitol building and joined up with the 22 other Blue Star Mothers for the capitol tour. The Crypt room was a favorite with all the statues. Our guide asked where each of the moms were from and then pointed out the statue from their state, as well as told us interesting facts about the statue. After lunch, the group dwindled down to eleven ladies moving on to the Library of Congress tour. Each year, the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. presents a national yearbook from the organization to the Library of Congress. While there, we had the opportunity to visit with Mrs. Donna Borden and learn about the Veterans History project.
Friday morning, bright and early, five moms ventured over to walk the National Mall. We began at the Vietnam Wall reading many of the names and pausing at one particular name... that of Wayde M. Huso, a young man from Big Lake, MN, whose mom, 105-year-old Stella Huso, is a member of the Department of MN Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. and in the Wright County Area chapter. Wayde was killed on August 13, 1969, making his mom both a Gold and Blue Star Mother. We spoke his name and took a photo of it for his mom. From the Vietnam Wall, we ventured over to the Women’s Vietnam Memorial and then meandered over to the Korean War Memorial. This was a very humbling place to visit, to remember that, as stated on the wall at the Korean War Memorial, “Freedom is not Free.” Moving right along, we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, and finally, the World War II Memorial (where we found Kilroy!)
The escorts on motorcycles had begun to arrive. The mothers were introduced to the escorts, who would take us around to events throughout the rest of the weekend. As part of the introduction, each of the moms received a “road name” on a patch for our vests. Several of us rode over to the Cathedral for the blessing of the bikes. Later, we all loaded up and went to the Vietnam Wall for the Candlelight Vigil Walk. As night fell, the walkway of the Vietnam Memorial was completely lined with men, women, and children four deep, who silently stood there to commemorate the over 58,000 men and women who gave their lives to keep us safe and free. As the Flame of Freedom began to travel toward the apex of the wall, its light was guided by the Gold Star Mothers and the Gold Star Wives, being escorted with the Blue Star Mothers and their escorts surrounding our sisters in love as we all honored their loved ones. As the light stopped at the center of The Wall, mothers and fathers paused to remember and pray for their children. Those who had lost a daughter or son in service to their country remembered them as they were, forever young. Those with children currently serving our country, or who are veterans prayed for their child’s safe return. At the end, all we could hear was the solemn sound of “Taps” being played. We remember our Fallen by speaking their names – it acknowledges they aren’t – and won’t be – forgotten.
Arlington National Cemetery was our destination for Saturday. We arrived in the morning and went straight to the WIMSA (Women In Military Service for America) Memorial. There was a short program introducing some of the people involved in making this event happen, introductions of the Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives, as well and many appreciation awards were handed out.
A visit to Arlington National Cemetery takes you past rolling green hills of silent white stones. Families walk among the monuments, taking their time to read the hundreds of thousands of names. The quiet is comforting, calming. But a visit to Section 60 in Arlington National cemetery is far from calm, it is far from silent. Section 60 is the final resting place for many of those who lost their lives in our most current conflict. There are families sitting on blankets, sitting in folding chairs. There are children playing, families gathering in celebration. There are military members and veterans gathering to celebrate the lives of their fallen comrades. You hear laughter and hear stories of good times together. There are tokens left for our heroes, from coins, flowers, photos and flags. There are those who come to honor men and women they have never met. They honor the sons and daughters of good friends, and of total strangers. They come to celebrate. We gather to commemorate, to remember the sacrifice of our fallen heroes. We gathered to celebrate their lives, to rejoice in the gift of their life.
Sunday, the day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! We were all up early and headed out to a local grocery store parking lot to wait for the arrival of the Gold Star Mothers. When the Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives arrived, we took a group photo with all our “sisters.” Then it was time to leave for the Pentagon parking lot to line up for the Rolling to Remember demonstration ride, which was to depart at noon. At 11:50 a.m., the National Anthem played and then we boarded the motorcycles. The roar of the engines as they revved was breathtaking. The first bikes rolled out carrying the Gold Star Mothers and then the Gold Star Wives and following them were the 50 Blue Star Mothers and their escorts. The ride was not long, but it was very impressive and an experience of a lifetime! There were over 20,000 motorcycles and twice as many riders.
Among the escorts were members from the Legion Riders from New Jersey, Combat Veteran Motorcycle Association from North Carolina, VFW Riders from Pennsylvania, Amvets from Florida, individual riders from South Carolina and Virginia and the Iron Horse Clan. We thank all these drivers for graciously giving of their time.
The Rolling to Remember was hosted by AMVETS National Headquarters, it is a massive motorcycle demonstration ride to raise awareness of the veteran mental health crisis and Americans Missing in Action and Prisoners of War. For more information, visit www.amvets.org.
For more information regarding American Gold Star Mothers visit www.americangoldstarmothers.org; Gold Star Wives of America visit www.goldstarwives.org; and Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc visit www.bluestarmothers.org.
