"Roll On" - A Tribute Ride Honoring Sgt. Harry Watson

[emptysea]

Part I (continued)

The Harrod stop came at a little past the midway point in my 500 mile day. it was back on US30 to my next Tour of Honor memorial site in Chester, West Virginia. Lucky for me that the Tour of Honor organizers chose the memorial in Chester this year because I would have to pass through the town on my way to my last Tour stop for the day in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

I've come to the conclusion that there is a strong correlation between heat and my comfort level over the course of a long ride on this bike. Frankly, if I can keep my butt cool, I can ride much longer without discomfort. The Sit & Fly mesh seat cover I added to my bike about a year ago has been the best $30 spend I've made on ride comfort for my CB1100. It allows airflow beneath me which keeps me cooler and drier than the stock, or even my aftermarket seat. I don't think it distracts or detracts from the look of the bike, but Rally-goers have seen my bike and can offer their own opinions of the aesthetics.





I deviated from US30 for a portion of the 200 mile leg from Harrod to Chester. Ohio state highway 172 takes a more direct route to Chester than US30. The map below shows the 172 route in blue and the US30 route in red. I didn't research this, but I think that OH172 may have been part of Lincoln Highway or at least part of the original US30 configuration. Regardless, I had time and energy to take a detour from the bigger US highway onto this little state highway. As if to confirm my decision, I encountered fewer than 10 vehicles and almost the entire length of the road had been recently repaved. This was the first of two detours this day and was easily the best of the two.





It was on 172 that I had my first exposure to what seems to be a sort of prank that road designers are playing on motorcyclists in this part of the country -- placing turns just beyond the apex of a hill, making it difficult to determine the radius and therefore the entry point and speed. It wasn't terrible, but it did take this flatlander a bit of time to get used to these blind corners and I noticed this not only in eastern Ohio, but throughout Pennsylvania as well. I have no pictures of these pranks because I was too preoccupied to pull out my lanyard cam. I'm sure that Ferret would have have snapped off 30 or 40 pics had he been with me. OH172 was a lovely road, though, and a perfect respite from the more sterile US30.

If not for a little spur of West Virginia that protrudes northward along the Ohio River, Pennsylvania's only neighbor to the west would be Ohio. I'm not sure why West Virginia has protrusion; my guess is that it has something to do with some ancient treaty involving river rights, but it looks to be about 30 miles wide at its widest point in the south and tapers northward about 90 miles to the point where the Ohio River meets the Pennsylvania border. Chester, West Virginia is just a few miles from that point.



I don't have much to report about the city of Chester. It seemed like a typical river town to me. The Tour of Honor memorial I was to visit is located on the town's main drag, Carolina Ave. Fairly busy street with no parking on the side where the memorial is situated. I decided to act like I had authorization and parked on the sidewalk in front of the memorial which features a 1/8 scale B-52. It is also supposed to have a water feature, but it either wasn't working or down the hill behind the bomber-on-a-stick. This was my least favorite memorial on my tour, but I still managed to choke up in the video as you will see below.















My second detour of the day was influenced by an actual detour on PA 151 which I thought would be the best way to get to my next stop in Sewickley, PA, avoiding Pittsburgh International Airport and potential traffic going into downtown Pittsburgh. 151 was supposed to take me to the Ohio River and then I would proceed south a few miles to cross the river (again) into Pennsylvania.

My day was almost complete and thus far there I had encountered little in the way of road construction. I was on pace to get to the last memorial in Sewickley before dark and I was pleased with myself for picking 151 as my scenic shortcut around the airport. It was just after these thoughts had crossed my mind that I saw the "Road Closed Ahead" sign. 151 was under construction and and a quick look at my phone indicated that the detour would take me back toward the airport. This would certainly put me at my Tour of Honor stop at or after dark, which was sub-optimal. Another look at my phone showed a road that roughly paralleled 151, but had a much narrow line on the map. "Probably a road through a subdivision", I said aloud inside my helmet. Then added, "It might have a 25 mph speed limit, but it still will be faster than going all the way back almost the way I came." I don't usually talk to myself. Maybe I did this time to help convince myself to take my own detour. If so, the technique worked and instead of turning right on PA18, I stayed on 151 to Ridge Road. Left on Ridge to Longs Run Rd. and Longs Run Rd. east southeast back to 151. Easy Peasy. uh huh.

Turns out that Longs Run Rd was a poorly paved, un-striped, curvy, forested, and desolate road running mostly down hill toward the river. It may be a delightful ride in daylight, but the hill and the forest removed the daylight and thus the delight. Frankly, I was nervous. "What if a deer pops out?" "What if I hit a gravel patch and go down? Who will find me and when?" I did not ask these questions aloud inside my helmet. I tamped them down to the back of my brain and kept on.

The whole detour was all of 4 miles, but darkness and unfamiliarity slowed me quite a bit. I didn't mark the times, but I'd guess that it pushed back my arrival time at Sewickley Cemetery, the location of the last memorial, by 15-20 minutes.

In the map below, the green line was my planned route and the red line is Longs Run Rd. The official detour would have taken me south, east, and north back to 151 and even in hindsight would have delayed me even more than my narrow road adventure (the purple line is drawn by my Spot GPS tracker.)



Crossing the Ohio River into Pennsylvania to my last Tour stop.


I arrived at the cemetery at about 7:00pm local time. Not dark, yet, but I would call it 'extreme dusk'. The cemetery made it feel darker.

The Tour of Honor memorial here honored the Tuskegee Airmen. Most Americans know the story of these heroic African-American men and their contributions to our efforts to win World War II. For those unfamiliar, I urge you to do a Google search on them.

If you've never heard the call of a rutting buck, you don't want your first time to be alone. in a cemetery. in the dark. Trust me on this. Fortunately, I saw the herd passing behind the Airmen's memorial just a second or two after hearing his call and so was able to rule out a wolf, a bear, a wildcat, the Banshee, and the Jabberwock.

Darkness, fatigue, hunger, and a little irrational fear kept me from spending more time at this memorial. The cemetery grounds looked beautiful and ancient. I would like to go back to visit this cemetery. At noon. With a companion.

Only one picture this time


And a short video:




A very short ride from the cemetery to my hotel on Neville Island. I have heard that this island has significance in the American Revolutionary War, but I have not read up on it. I for sure wasn't going to read up on it late on a Thursday night after a 500 mile ride and with another 250+ miles to go on Friday. I grabbed some snack bars and water from the little hotel commissary, talked to Cheryl, and went to bed.

I slept well.

End of Part I

[Cormanus]

EmptySea Wrote:This bike just goes. And goes. And goes ... I wash it [occasionally] ... That's about all I do to it and it just goes. Hot weather, cold weather; it just goes ... this bike does everything I ask of it and it does it every single day.
What a wonderful statement. It really resonated.

As always, this is a splendid and thoroughly readable report, MTC. And a worthy mission on the 100th anniversary of the birth of an uncle you never knew who died tragically, and relatively close to the end of WW2. Such a tragic loss of so many lives.

I'm very much looking forward to further instalments.

[emptysea]

Thanks, Cormanus and Au₂O₃

Part II is mostly written, but my work schedule has been a bit full this week. Hopefully by the weekend.

[Cormanus]

That subscript is very clever stuff.

[GoldOxide_imp]

That subscript is very clever stuff.

Agreed. ( ͡°Ĺ̯ ͡° ) Clever MTC.

[emptysea]

Part II

September 4, 2020
Had two granola bars and an apple from the Fairfield Inn - Neville Island's "pantry" as I loaded my bike for the 250 mile trip to Arlington National Cemetery. I packed another couple of granola bars into my dry bag for a snack on my way. Getting to the cemetery as soon as possible was of paramount importance; certainly more important than seeking out a local diner or even a Bob Evans.

The morning was cool. Cooler than I expected and cloudy with a hint of rain as well. The radar didn't show any weather to be concerned about, really, but I added wind/rain liner as a mid-layer and left my insulating layer (a fairly thick 1/4-zip pullover) strapped to the outside of my backpack for easy access just in case. I finished my breakfast snack, pushed the "Custom Message Button" on my Spot GPS locator which is programmed to send "All is well. Love you, MTC" to my wife and daughter, and headed out.

I set my route to avoid anything resembling rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh so from Neville Island, I picked up I-79 about 2,000 ft from my hotel and directed the CB1100 due south for about 30 miles to Houston, PA. I would grab PA519 to connect me to US40, called National Pike in this part of the country. National Pike would take me to I-68, called National Freeway in this part of the country. National Freeway would take me most of the way to George Washington Parkway, which is just called George Washington Parkway in this part of the country. Arlington National Cemetery, Harry's resting place, is just off of GWP in Arlington, Virginia. I planned only gas and comfort stops for this leg of the trip and, while I wanted to avoid the interstates for most of it, I wanted as quick and as direct a route as possible.

I was on I-79 for about 3.5 minutes before I realized the error of not wearing my wind/rain layer. It was far cooler at speed than I had anticipated and any warmth from the early morning sun was blocked by the mountains and hills to my east and then by the considerable cloud cover. I gutted it out for the 30 miles and stopped for gas at a small full-service (yes, really) gas station on 519. The older woman who was pumping the gas for everyone turned to me and said "You'll have to fill your own, sweetie, I don't fill bikes". So I filled my own. She seemed a bit amused when I finished filling and started stripping down so I could add that 1/4-zip pullover to my layers. Because of how I had my earbuds wired to my Cardo Packtalk and because of the 1/4-zip, I had to remove pretty much everything from the top of my head to my waist except for my t-shirt. I need to remember for future trips that, while the 1/4-1/2 zip pullovers look great, pack a full-zippered jacket/sweater so I don't have to remove my headgear to add/remove a layer.

I recall hitting a little pocket of rain, more like mist, shortly after the wardrobe change. It didn't last long, but the clouds would follow me most of the way through Maryland. As the morning wore on, the temperature did begin to rise despite the clouds. When I finally hit George Washington Parkway for the last few miles of my trip, the sun was out in full and my pullover was going to need to come off soon. Fortunately, I was only uncomfortably warm for about 10-15 minutes of riding (and almost all of the time I was at the cemetery).

George Washington Parkway is a tree-lined road that runs along the Potomac River, delivering motorists to the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. On its way in, it passes several significant landmarks like the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Marine Corps Memorial, and my destination, Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). It is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful way for a first-time visitor to enter D.C.







Arlington National Cemetery is widely-believed to have been owned by eventual commander of the Confederate States Army, Gen. Robert E. Lee. However, the fact is that it was never owned by him. His wife inherited the estate from her father and Gen. Lee was the executor of his estate. The Lee family abandoned the estate at the start of the US Civil War and it was seized by the United States during that ward as a defensive barrier to attacks on Washington, D.C. Three different forts were constructed on the property during the Civil War. The first military burial took place on May 13, 1864. The original cemetery was 200 acres and, as of 2020, has grown to nearly 700 acres. Harry was originally buried in France, but his remains were moved to ANC at my grandparents' request in 1947. I visited his grave with my younger sister, my parents, and my grandparents in 1974 and again in 1988 with my fiance' Cheryl. My parents were lucky enough to visit his original burial spot in France in the early 1990s. I hope to make that trip someday, too.

I'd like to take a minute to thank Covid-19 and the ensuing pandemic for making my day at ANC extra special. Since access to the access to the cemetery was limited to family members and funeral attendees, there was no line of vehicles at the check-in point. Since they were not running shuttles, family members were allowed to drive (ride) their vehicles into the section of the cemetery where their loved one is buried. Since only family members were allowed, the few people I did encounter treated me with uncommon respect and kindness. My lanyard cam was failing me as I pulled to the main gate or I'd have been able to snap a few majestic shots on my ride in. In fairness, I was also preoccupied with remembering where I put my Family Pass and my ID as I would need both in order to gain entry and it was possible, though unlikely, that they could deny me entry for any reason whatsoever. Turns out that I was worried about nothing. The guards and other workers could not have been more helpful to me.

I urge anyone visiting Washington, D.C. to stop at Arlington National Cemetery. It is beautiful in its solemnity.

The cemetery has a "find a grave" app so, once inside, I was able to navigate directly to Section 12. The navigation took me under McClellan Gate, the original entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. The arched gate is narrow enough that I am not sure that they allow vehicles through it when the cemetery is fully open. At this point, I was wishing I had a chronicler with me to take a picture of me riding through the gate -- would have been a pretty cool addition to "Let's See Your CB1100 Out On The Road!"


McClellan Gate

Once I found Harry's headstone, I carried his duffel bag to it and unpacked his flag, Bronze Star, and dog tags. I texted my family back in Chicago to let them know I was going to start my Facebook Live broadcast shortly. By this time, it was hot. I don't have a thermometer on my bike, but my guess is that it was in the upper 80s and humid. It was still sunny, but I could see some clouds to my northwest that looked concerning for my ride from the cemetery to my hotel which was, yep, to the northwest. I had a few minutes while my brother got over to our mother's house so she could watch the broadcast. I took off a the extra layers and had a drink of water while sitting next to my bike which was parked in the shade just a couple hundred feet form Harry's grave.





My iPhone overheated a couple of minutes into my broadcast, interrupting it. You will see that the recording is in two parts. I apologize again for my wavering voice, jumpy video, and my general rambling. Please watch them, though, because in between the rambling and the emotion are a few interesting tidbits.










I'd like to clarify a thought I articulated in the video about Blanche and Harry's death. What I meant to say regarding the idea that his life was cut short was "We all have a life to live. I know that some lives are cut short, but what makes a life 'full' or 'complete'? I think that a complete life is one that has love. It may not be romantic love. It might be the love that comes from being selflessly involved in something larger than oneself. I am not certain whether Harry's life would have been full or complete had he died never having met Blanche, but I am 100% sure that he had a full and complete life because he did." (I am not sure that this clarification makes things clearer or not, but I had to try).

After the broadcast, as I was packing up, two things happened that are worthy of note. First, I heard drumbeats far in the distance. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was from a funeral somewhere back in the cemetery. I went back to my business of cooling down and packing up when I heard a loud screech from the opposite direction of the drums. I turned to see an eagle circling over Section 12. We use the word "amazing" a lot these days and the overuse diminishes the stature of the word -- Are even the best french fries actually "amazing"? The sight of the eagle over the cemetery with the sacred beating of drums in the background restored the was re-calibrated the scale of the word in my mind -- truly one of the most amazing experiences in my life.


On behalf of a grateful nation....


Across the road from where my bike was parked, I spied this headstone of one of the Tuskeegee Airmen just 15 hours after visiting the group's memorial at Sewickley Cemetery the night before.

I was in no hurry to leave the cemetery and lingered there long enough to see the drummer I had been hearing. He was leading a horse-drawn funeral caisson carrying a flag-draped coffin to its final resting space. It passed out of sight and sometime later, as I was just about to mount up, the three reports of a twenty-one gun salute.

Amazing.

One last Tour of Honor of honor site laid between me and my motel for the night in Leesburg, VA. In another coincidence, the Tour of Honor managers selected the Marine Corps Memorial as one of their 7 Virginia sites for 2020. Coincidental because this memorial, often called "the Iwo Jima Memorial", is located less than a mile from Arlington Cemetery and because Harry's sister, my mother, served as a Marine during World War II.

The memorial is one of my favorites in Washington. It not only remembers the sacrifice and struggle of the Marines on a tiny island, but it seems to symbolize the founding of the United States itself - a small group of people all working with the common purpose to establish a foothold of freedom and democracy.

It being so close to Arlington Cemetery and since I was growing tired of getting choked up, I opted not to broadcast from the Marine Corps Memorial.









When I was in Chester, VA the night before, I opined that my uncle exhibited common valor during his service to our country. Turns out I was not the first person to think that regular Joes, just doing their jobs, made uncommon valor common.

As I think I have exceeded my allotted images for one post, I will create a Part III covering my ride to Leesburg on Friday night and my trip from there to the CB1100 on Saturday.

[emptysea]

Part III (or Part II (b), perhaps)

The Marine Corps memorial was the first of the memorials I visited on this trip at which there were other visitors. I attribute this solely to proximity to a population center and the timing of my visits and not to some societal trend. There were three women who, based upon their attire, were healthcare workers having a picnic lunch on the very deep, pandemic-neglected, lawn. There was a young couple memorializing their visit with selfies and cellphone photos. When I was back at my bike getting ready to leave, a family of three hopped out of their SUV parked next to me. The young boy was clearly an unwilling participant in this field trip. I wondered if someday he might look back at this day as the day he started to learn something about what it means to be an American. Then I looked to my north and west and saw dark clouds and decided that I didn't want to learn anything about riding in the rain during Washington D.C.'s rush hour, strapped on my helmet and rolled out of U.S. Marine Memorial Circle on my way to Leesburg, VA.

One of the difficulties I have encountered using the Scenic app on my iPhone is recognizing which tine to follow when we come upon a fork in the road, especially at anything approaching highway speeds. Most time the roads are well marked and the app will post the exit number and/or street name. However, sometimes Scenic will describe a road by the highway number and sometimes by the local street name and sometimes the actual road signs focus on what town the road leads to rather than the name of the road itself. When these two circumstances combine, it often results in a u-turn or a trip around the block. I learned if they combine on George Washington Parkway, it can result in a several miles-long tour of greater Washington, D.C.

There were faster and more direct routes to my hotel, but I wanted to ride along GWP because it seemed to be a pleasant route and because the rain seemed to be coming in more directly from the west at that point so a northwesterly route might keep me out of the wet stuff if I made decent time on the parkway. I did just that until I exited on to 495 by mistake.



I won't bore you with a turn by turn analysis of my route to get back on GWP. Suffice it to say that I wound up back on GWP about 5 miles behind where I exited it which means it was a 10 mile/20 minute U-Turn that had me crossing the Potomac twice, once on something called Chain Bridge. This might have been fun if the 20 minute delay hadn't put me back on the parkway just in time for the rain to hit. The best laid plans, etc.

Eventually I made it onto Georgetown Pike (VA193) which was pretty, but slow and then onto Leesburg Pike (VA7) which was not so pretty and just about as slow. My motel was on Leesburg Pike and the rain clouds had lifted just as I arrived at the Red Roof Inn. Clean and convenient with very friendly staff. Only downside was that it was a pretty good walk (too far for me) into downtown historic Leesburg and I wanted to treat myself to a good meal that included an adult beverage. I made the executive decision to limit myself to one such beverage when I first arrived, make sure I eat a lot, and not get back on my motorcycle for at least 90 minutes post-beverage. I know how to Uber (although my kids don't believe me when I say that) so if the drink had hit me harder than normal, I could get back to the motel. It didn't.

Dinner was at Lightfoot Restaurant, which was one of several recommended options I received from The Man Behind The (silk)Screen, our own InHouseBob. The place was fantastic. I explained to my server upon entry why I would like to have my drink as soon as possible and he obliged. A Beefeater martini, up. I always like when restaurant staff pay a little more attention to me when I'm dining alone and my guy did that in spades. I ordered a Caesar salad to start and a steak as the entree. Both were fantastic. Downtown Leesburg is a lovely area, very walk-able, with nice little shops, restaurants, and bars. Many of these places were closed or had restricted access due to Covid-19 restrictions so I guess I'll just have to go back there when the pandemic subsides.


Not the greatest street shot of Leesburg, but I was tired.


Steak was fantastic and just what I needed after a wonderful, but emotional day.


InHouseBob, or as I like to call him for no apparent reason "Bob", agreed to meet me in Leesburg on Saturday morning so we could ride together to the CB1100 Rally in Williamsport, PA. The most direct route to Williamsport is about 185 miles. Bob wanted to take me through historic Harper's Ferry and I wanted to capture a Maryland Tour of Honor stop near which lengthened the intended rout to about 200 miles. For reasons that are best kept secret between the two participating motorcyclists, the actual route was closer to 250 miles. Before heading out on this trek, though, sustenance was needed. Bob had a spot in Leesburg that he wanted to try, but it didn't look open so we circled the block a couple of times (a foreshadowing??) and found this place called Burford's Biscuits which had, wouldn't-cha-guess, biscuit-inclusive breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. We each opted for the Breakfast Biscuit, if I recall, but some of the other choices looked amazing. However, with a long riding day ahead, I decided to forego the "gravy flight".




See...you can really order a flight of gravy


Bob and I and two breakfast biscuits on Buford's front porch. A lovely way to start the day.


Extra biscuit shot since I was under the allotted pic count for this post.

Bob offered to lead the ride to Williamsport. After two pretty long days of following my Scenic App I was grateful for the opportunity to leave the navigation to someone else. My only request was that we visit a Tour of Honor site in Maryland so I could complete my mission of visiting one site in each state I visited on this trip. Bob, being the gracious person he is, was more than happy to oblige and even suggested we visit a few other historic locations on our trip.

If you look closely at the map (below), you will see that we did not take the shortest or fastest track to Harrisburg. However, what was lost in time was gained in sights seen. We rode through Harper's Ferry, West Virginia a town with geographical and historical significance dating back to before the U.S. Revolution and playing a major role in the U.S. Civil War. Arguably, the opening salvo of the Civil War was fired in the form of an abolitionist raid here in December, 1859. Its proximity to the Upper Potomac River a vital location to Confederate and Union troops alike and the town changed hands eight times during the war and left the town virtually leveled by war's end. We did not stop in Harper's Ferry, but we did ride through the town which, fortunately, was rebuilt after the end of the Civil War.

The famous Appalachian Trial skirts past Harper's Ferry and if we had hopped off our bikes here and began hiking north on the Trail, we'd have arrived at the National War Correspondents Memorial in Maryland which is where we were heading next only atop our motorcycles -- Bob could easily run the 10 or 11 miles from Harper's Ferry to the memorial, but I'm pretty sure that if I tried that trip on foot, they'd be engraving the plaque to commemorate the spot on the trail where I breathed my last.

The War Correspondents Memorial is by far the most grandiose of any of the TOH memorials I have visited in 3 years of doing this tour. The only possible exception would be the Marine Memorial I had visited the day before (was that just a day ago??). It sits quietly at an intersection of two roads and the Appalachian Trail. A very peaceful spot, really.


Ignore any odd looking deviations from what would otherwise appear to be a fairly straightforward route.


Riding in to Harper's Ferry.


Bob in front of the John Brown Museum which preserves the history of the abolitionist raid on this town and its contribution to the advancement of freedom in the United States (raid's contribution, not Bob's, although I'm sure he has contributed in his own significant ways).


Harper's Ferry is a tourist spot, but well worth a visit.


The National War Correspondents Memorial in Maryland. Magnificent and beautiful. I wish we had had more time to explore the immediate area.
Bob was an absolute pleasure to follow. He's a great rider, but great riders are not always good ride leaders--He's both. He seemed always to be aware that I was behind him. There were no sudden lane changes. He was careful to signal well ahead of most lane changes or turns and he pointed out any road hazards that popped up. We passed a couple riding two up on a Harley and wearing matching gear. They both waved at us and we both waved back. I thought to myself, "That was a nice looking couple out for a Saturday ride." Then I wondered if they were thinking the same thing of Bob and I and our matching CB1100s. I laughed out loud in my helmet at that.






We rode past the Gettysburg Battlefield, past Harrisburg, PA (the home of the 28th Infantry), and roughly followed the the Susquehanna River which deposited us at the Best Western - Williamsport for the beginning of the Eastern CB1100 Rally. We covered about 240 miles, rode through 4 different states (VA, WV, MD, PA), visited 3 historic locations and arrived at a congregation of friends old and new.



There will be one more installment on this report covering the last two memorial I visited while at the rally and a short bit about my long ride back home at the end of the rally. Thank you all for your patience while I've cobbled this story together.

[Cormanus]

As always, MTC, well worth the wait.

I can attest that Inhouse Bob, or 'Bob' as you like to call him for no apparent reason, is indeed a fine touring companion. He sometimes does duty as a rain god though which can make for moist proceedings.

[GoldOxide_imp]

As always, the script was well laid down MTC. A pleasure reading, and re-reading.

[emptysea]

Part IV (or Part III or Part II &copy

I really had intended on concluding the tribute part of my ride and therefore my report thereof at the War Correspondents Memorial in Maryland. After all, Maryland was the last "new" state through which I would ride -- Several days in Pennsylvania then returning home through Ohio and Indiana. I figured that once at the Rally, it would be mostly about CB1100s and enjoying the Pennsylvania countryside. The only Harry-related stop I wanted to make was at the Pennsylvania Military Museum on the grounds of which is located a "memory wall" listing the names of all soldiers from the 28th who were killed in action (KIA) or died of wounds (DOW) during WWII. A photo of Harry's name on that wall would be a great gift for my mom and a keepsake for myself.

During the research phase of this trip, in the 2019-20 winter, I had contacted the 28th Infantry and corresponded with a Sgt. Damian Smith, the command historian. Sgt. Smith was very excited about my trip and suggested a few points of interest that I might want to visit. He even suggested a route across PA on US322 - "The 28th Infantry Division Highway". He was the one that informed me of the existence of the Pennsylvania Military Museum and the memorial there. His last email to me asked me to send additional information about Harry as he could find no such person in his database. I sent that information on 2/7/2020 and never heard back from him. I found out much later that the pandemic changes some of his job duties during the spring and that he was attending various education and training events during the summer and fall. His inability to find any record of Harry has been troubling me ever since he mentioned it. I know for certain that Harry served in the 28th Infantry Division/112th Infantry Regiment and that made me wonder why the Army couldn't confirm that fairly easily. I hoped that Harry's name was on the memory wall not only to honor him, but if his name was there, then I could provide that information to Sgt. Smith (or someone else at the 28th) so they could update their records.

It turned out that there were more than a few Rally-goers who had been following along with me from Chicago. When I mentioned that I wanted to visit the museum and maybe another Tour of Honor stop in the area at some point during the week, I got a few people that were interested in tagging along. InHouseBob, activedirt and suhawk305 were available to head to the Tour of Honor site. The A-Man and SCCBrider expressed an interest in visiting the museum, although I suspect that its proximity to Penn State University, A-Man's alma mater entered into the equation for both of them.

On the Wednesday of the Rally, KiowaHawk had planned a fairly long day of riding; longer, at least, than I had really wanted to undertake that day. Seemed like a good day visit the Tour of Honor site in Renovo, PA. which as it turns out, is the epicenter of some of the best riding in the state (more on that in in another report). InhouseBob, activedirt, and suhawk decided to join me on this 120 mile loop that included the stop at the TOH site and, of course, lunch. The larger group had picked a place in Lock Haven called Hangar 9 and since our bunch would be heading through Lock Haven, we wound up eating at the same place only an hour or so earlier.

The best part of this ride was a narrow, winding, and wooded road that connects PA44 with PA120. The roadbed could use a re-do, but Hyner Mountain Road was a delightful stretch of road that lead us on the last leg of our outbound trip. 120 deposited us at the memorial.


The now infamous and always amazing PA144 runs through Renovo. There are reports and photos elsewhere in this forum.


activedirt on Hyner Mountain Road




Not 100% sure if this guardrail increases or decreases my odds of surviving a crash in that direction. (Hyner Mountain Road)


This is how the Tour of Honor officials want us to document a visit to a site. Flag number prominently displayed in the foreground with a clearly identifiable image of the memorial in the background.


What you see when you get off your bike and approach the Tour of Honor sites. I think that many participants take a quick qualifying picture and move on. I also know that others to take some time at each memorial they visit. If you decide to do the Tour of Honor, take some time to explore the memorial sites; you won't regret it.




A great lunch. Food was terrific. We discussed favorite songs to listen to when we ride. I think it was activedirt that offered up "Last Date" by Floyd Cramer. It does not fit the stereotypical image of a biker song, that's for sure. I was listening to an equally ambient piece most of the week, "Chase the Clouds Away" by Chuck Mangione. I cannot recall InhouseBob's or suhawk's pick (unless suhawk was "Last Date"). Maybe they can reply with their choices. Oh and the Rally shirts were and are awesome!

______

Forecast was for rain during the afternoon on Thursday so the larger group decided on an off-bike activity; rafting, I think, but I wasn't paying much attention. I had decided to head to the Pennsylvania Military Museum that day and A-Man and SCCBrider were on board with that so off we went. A pretty route, but mostly flat and straight. We hit rain about 20 miles from our destination, but it didn't last long and we had wisely geared up upon seeing the ominous clouds ahead.

The museum grounds were awe inspiring. We couldn't go inside, of course, but we really didn't need to. I have to thank both A-Man and SCCBrider for their interest in my story or, I guess, that of my uncle. They helped me locate the wall I was looking for and took photos. They scoured the list of names to find Harry's, but alas, his name does not appear anywhere on the wall, not even in another regiment's list. I think they were more disappointed than I was not to find it. For me, not finding his name on the list leads me to believe that the list to which Sgt. Smith referred was the same list furnished to the museum when the wall was built. To me, this omission is a mystery to be solved in order to properly honor my uncle, and quite probably many other soldiers of the 28th, who perished in WWII and who became lost in the fog of time.




A-Man with the Nittany Lion


SCCBrider


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I left for home early on Saturday, September 12th. It was a chilly start to my 660 mile ride, but it was sunny. I returned on I-80 through most of Pennsylvania. After gassing up near the town of Brookville, I 322, for several miles just to be away from 80 mph(ish) speeds for a bit. Remember US322? The 28th Division Highway? That Sgt. Smith mentioned in his February email? Well, I didn't. I had forgot completely about this road and never included it in any of my plans. I only recall it now because I wanted to re-read those emails for this report. I'm disappointed about this since 322 runs roughly parallel to I-80 though the western part of the state. I could have easily taken it for the first several hours of my ride home. As it turns out, though, I accidentally was on the 28th Division Highway not only from Brookville to Corsica (about 8 miles), but A-Man, SCCBrider, and I rode it for like 1,000 feet while making our way back to Williamsport from State College. All the same, I wish I had include it in my route home.

After entering Ohio, I hopped on OH303 which I would take to US20 and then US6. This is basically a straight line across Ohio and Indiana and while slower, it does avoid Cleveland and it's just a more comfortable route for me than I-80. I have no choice to be on 80 once I get closer to Illinois and prefer delaying that for as long as possible.


Geared up like this....


Shortly after seeing this.


Detour on US6 in Indiana. Detours at the end of a 600 mile ride with darkness looming and rain starting are my least favorite in the genre.

The US 6 detour put me on some back roads. I did not want to be stuck on Indiana back roads in the dark, in the rain, and in the cold. Frankly, I feel much safer on the interstates in those conditions so I plotted a route back to I-80 entering it somewhere near LaPort, IN which is about 95 miles from my garage.

Lucky for me the rain stopped shortly after reaching the highway and just as the setting sun dropped below the cloud line escorting me about half of the remaining way home. I arrived home at twilight and in a twilight. It was quite a week. The first days with so much emotion and history. The others with the joy of motorcycles, great roads, and wonderful people with whom to share them.

My winter project is solve the mystery of the death of a soldier.

Thanks for tagging along.