This year my Run is dedicated to my Dad (Step Father)

In about 1962 when I was not yet 7 years old I met a man, I started calling him Uncle Donald.  He was nice to my Brother Bob and I.  He bought us things, and took care of us.  He introduced us to motorcycles when he bought an old Police Bike to ride to and from work with.  

He later married my Mother and moved us to Wisconsin.  There are a lot of side stories there, but in the end we moved to Wisconsin.

I did not know until almost 40 years later that he was a Marine.  My Brother knew when he was 16, and he became a Marine too.

I am not sure when I started calling this man Dad, and I do not know if it was something he asked of me, or something my Mother asked of me.  It doesn't matter.  Men can very easily become Fathers, but it takes a lot of work to be a Dad.

My Dad was proud of me.  He never actually told me this, I just know it.  More so now that I have received back letters that I wrote him while I was in the military, that he kept.   Photos that he had of me, and my Brother that he kept.

In 2004 when my Brother first told me about Run For The Wall, my Dad encouraged me to do it.  He even helped me shop for a motorcycle several times.  Then in 2005 when I rode out to Colorado to join my first Run with my Brother, my Dad and my Wife showed up in Illinois, and joined the Run too.  He did the entire route, but it took him three trips to do it.  He made it to Washington DC twice, and rode into Arlington on my Brothers bike with him, and did two Rolling Thunder parades.  All of this at the age of 70.  He died just before his 80th Birthday. 
I cannot say that I enjoyed all my time with this man.  In fact when I was a teenager I am not even sure I liked him.  But as I got older he got wiser.   When on the Run he was known as "The Old Marine", and although he was not the oldest to have participated in the Run, he did participate.  He loved his Run Family, and really enjoyed reading the news letters.
My Brother and I are carrying two of his hats to D.C., and a picture of him with another Marine in Corydin, Indiana holding his old unit flag.   The smile on both their faces says more about what they thought of the run than anything I can say here.   I will be putting a copy of this picture in this post.

Rest in Peace Dad, you served your time in hell, while in Korea, I do believe that you are with God.

I miss you a lot, this Run is for you.  I never said this enough when you were alive, Thanks, and I love you.

I did get to say it a few times.  We used to talk on the phone on Sundays, and Sundays are sometimes hard for me.