Honor and Friendship

 This post is about a trip that I am making with my brother, Bob Shoreparty Talley.

A while ago he called me and told me that he had a friend that was dying of Cancer as a result of either being stationed at Camp Lejune, NC or Agent Orange.  They were going to come to Camp Lejune together after the last Run For the Wall that Bob's freind did, and events overcame that plan.  They promised each other they would do this together someday.  Bob is taking a flag and the Memory of his friend here.

There is a memorial here for the Marines that were killed in the Lebanon Barracks bombing.  They were both in the unit that this happened to.  Bob did me the honor of asking me to accompany him on this trip.  I promised him almost two years ago I would do this.  LeAnn Larson is working so I can keep the job I need and I am doing it.

The trip has been tough, and fun.  Bob and I are brothers but we had some bad years.  When we were kids we spent a lot of time trying to kill each other, and as adults we did not always communicate well.  But we are brothers, and I am proud that he is also my friend.

This is the first of a few posts about this trip.  Bob left Colorado Springs Colorado and met me in Oklahoma City.  I left Lometa TX so my first day was shorter than his.  But he rides a lot more than I do.  I have about 70k miles on touring bikes, but only now about 40000 on my Big Red Yamaha.  It is a nice bike but I am getting old.

Our first night we stayed in a "Bunk a Biker" home in Harrah Oklahoma.  They were great people. The Thompsons welcomed us, fed us and garaged our bikes.  They are a GOLD STAR family.  They lost their son CPL Michael Eyre Thompson on 9/18/2008.  When we pulled into the garage I saw Roger's  Harley which is dedicated to Mikey.  A thought here, I enlisted in 1977 because my then Wife was pregnant with our first child and the Air Force was the only job I could find that would cover that.  Yes I made  a career out of it, yes I deployed to some silly places and some bad places, but there was no war going on when I enlisted. It was simply a job that I grew to love.  I was in a combat zone but there were dependents there so it was not really that dangerous.   The people that are enlisting today in all branches of the service are doing so at a time when our country is at war and I truly respect and admire every one of them.

The Thompsons have a great home and we plan to stop back there on the way home.  

The above photos are of Bob Shore Party Talley and a couple of Marines we met at a gas stop in Tennesse and a young sailor he met this morning.  Funny little thing about the two guys at the gas stop.  Bob said hi to them and greeted them like any biker would, the tall guy was like "yeah whatever".  Then Bob turned to get on his bike and the tall guy said "I am sorry sir I did not see your patch.  We are both Marines too."  The conversation went very friendly at that.  Bob asked the Sailor if he was a plumber, he replied yes (for those of us that do not speak Marine a plumber is a Corpsman).  They had a pleasant conversation, and I enjoyed it.

The above photos are of Bob and Bill's Memory and Flag at the Memorial.  That    place is very Hallowed Ground.  There is pain there, not at much as at the Wall in D.C., but I could feel it.  A lot of pain has been left there.                                              

That is it for today, Revelry is at 0500 and that is sharp, since I am traveling with a Marine and a Memory of a Marine I will be ready to go.