USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Day 64, 6 October: Annapolis, MD

Today we performed our last official act as the Ride-2-Remember. We attended the class meeting and memorial service in our Full Dress Blue jerseys with the names of our deceased classmates on the back.

The service opened with bagpipes and included personal tributes to our 10 operational losses by companymates of them all, which echoed our own tributes over the past two months. That was followed by a video roster of all who have left us with pictures where available. Those names brought many smiles to my face as I recalled the stories of them in happier times.

At the end of the service Doug was given a few minutes to recap the R-2-R and what it meant to us and to others. He went well over, with a moving account of the moment he realized what we were doing and for whom.  He received a standing ovation followed by the playing of Taps. 

Between the service and lunch, we spoke with widows and others who wanted to meet us, and presented loved ones with a paper rendition of the backs of our jerseys, suitable for framing if desired.  I continued to meet widows through the afternoon who recognized us by our jerseys, and eventually gave out all I had.   It was truly gratifying to hear how much the gifts, and more importantly the Ride, were to them all. We will need more to send to the 1^st Co. survivors who were not in attendance and all the others we know of.

Unfortunately we did not have an opportunity to display the chain again, and its disposition is one piece of unfinished business we have to follow up on.  For now, Doug will retain custody of it until we can find a suitable home to display it.

After our 1^st Co. dinner this evening I again ran into Secretary Del Toro who’s here for ‘83’s 40^th reunion. We spoke briefly, I thanked him for his words yesterday and he again congratulated us for our unprecedented achievement.

There will undoubtedly be more to tell over time, but this brings us to the end of the last regular blog post.  I have heard from many who told us they don’t want it to be over, and it isn’t quite. I’ve asked all the riders to provide an input over the next few days with any final reflections on the blog, the ride itself and the overall experience.  I will then try to add an appropriate editorial postscript to close this out. Until then, as always, your comments on any entries are welcome.

Bill Montgomery