August 5, 2005: The graveyard was cool and quiet in the early morning sun, just the way they are supposed to be I guess. It was the small town of Shelbyville, Missouri, where five faithful riders, and a few others, came together at the burial site of a fallen warrior, friend, husband, and son. Just before us lay the remains of CW2 Michael T. Blaise of the 101st AB, 2/17 CAV, who lost his life when his OH-58D Kiowa Warrior crashed near Mosul, Iraq in what seemed like such a short time before, on January 23, 2004. We were there to pick Mike up, and take him to Sturgis.
As we stood around his place of rest, each of us was fighting our own demons, our own battles, but many of them were the same. We had come together as friends and strangers, with a common bond: To honor and remember our fallen and to come to terms with the loss that each of us felt. Although this is where the trip began, it was not the beginning.
Just a short time after his death, Mike’s good friend CW2 C.D. Foster decided we were going to ride to Sturgis, and we were going to pick up Mike on the way to take him with us. He and Mike had talked about one day going together in between deployments and hardship tours, and C.D. was not going to let him down. Among those five riders were Mike’s father Terry Blaise, who rode Mike’s Springer Softail, and his widow CPT Kate Blaise who had just completed a book about their lives together entitled, “The Heart of a Soldier”, and who also rode her own Softail Standard.
On this first trip, we packed a lot into a few days. We traveled through the pioneer countryside of Nebraska and up through Bad Lands National Forest with our final destination and meeting place in Sturgis, South Dakota. We spent four nights there camping under the stars and spending the days riding through the Black Hills National Forest where we viewed the Crazy Horse monument, Mount Rushmore and also took time to visit Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. The scenery was spectacular and being on the highway with thousands of other bikers was an amazing experience.
There was a lot of healing that took place on this trip. I believe that for most of the people involved, it can only be described as a “Spiritual Experience”. We had participants from a few different states, and from all walks of life. We were all weather road warriors, rain or shine, from temperatures of 55 to 109. Through it all, I believe that each of us would agree on this: It was not where we came from, what we did for a living, or even the sites that we saw. What made this a “Spiritual Journey” was the Purpose, the People, and God!
“EVERY” year we will continue, by riding to a different location to honor those who have given of themselves in the service of their country, and more specifically, a aircrew member who has sacrificed his or her life in the name of freedom. If you are a Patriot, you are welcome to join us. Meet us in Shelbyville, MO each year at Mike Blaise’s resting place. Meet at the resting place of any of the service members that we are honoring, or have honored in previous years. Ride straight to our destination and meet us there. Trailer your bike (we’ll probably give you a hard time, but it’s really OK). Find a group near you and ride with them all the way, or give them some extra company for part of their trip.
BLAISE ON TRAILBLAISERS!
|
