Walter Reed - Weeks 220 and 221, July 17 and 24, 2009; New Buses For Wounded Warriors

July 30, 2009 | Kburi

[kburi]

Walter Reed - Weeks 220 and 221, July 17 and 24, 2009; New Buses For Wounded Warriors

New Buses, Wounded Warriors, and Birthdays

Another great night to be at the Front Gate of Walter Reed.. Good camaraderie and good weather.

And, as is the norm, many passengers in cars waved and drivers honked showing their support of the troops and their families.

Slipping beneath our radar on the 17th was the fact that the Big Bus, returning wounded warriors and their families from the Friday Night dinner hosted by one of several restaurants in the DC area, had been replaced by a more conventional US Army issue large bus. We were ready for it on the 24th, and easily identified it several blocks away on its way to the Front Gate. Don’t know if this is permanent but we will find out.

FRONT GATE NOTES

An Army wife with two young sons stopped her car to thank us. We thanked her and her husband for their service and explained we were here for them.

Fernando, Army Cav, from Arizona, suffered a traumatic injury in Bagdad. He looks great and has a very positive outlook. After an operation, he will be retired and return to AZ.

These are just two instances of soldiers and their families who touch us each Friday evening.

On the 17th, the Moonbats had a dog tied up to a bench. The dog howled most of the night. But, if you ever saw the Moonbats you would know why the dog was howling.

This past Friday we celebrated 3D-Joy’s ?? birthday by singing Happy Birthday and eating great cake.

Assembling the MOAB

MOAB Ready for Friday Night

Cindy True Supporter, 3D-Joy and Fraxinus

BufordP

Trooprally on Station

HONOR ROLL Honor roll for July 17th: Mr and Mrs Trooprally, Cindy_True_Supporter; Lurker Bill, Rongkirby, Fraxinus, BufordP, 3D-Joy and Kburi. They were joined on July 24th by: Plea Deal, Jimmy Valentine’s Brother, Sensei Ern, Lurker Linda, Irwin and panhandler. Photos by Mrs Trooprally

Jimmy Valentines Brother

We are always looking for troop supporters to stop by and visit. Parking is free right across from Walter Reed’s front gate.

If you can't get to D.C. to join us but would like to do something for the wounded, you can find a wealth of ideas by FReepmailing Tom the Redhunter, Cindy-True-Supporter, VAFlagwaver, or PleaDeal.

A Big Thank You to all FReepers who transport and store our many signs and banners every week.

Come join us every Friday night between the hours of 6:30pm to approx 9:30pm. * Thank you to BufordP for maintaining the BIG LIST of all Walter Reed FReeps * Tom the Redhunter blogs at The Redhunter

More July 17 and 24, 2009 Photos

Lurker Bill

Rongkirby and Kburi

3D-Joy, Birthday Gal and BufordP

The BEST Birthday Cake

Lurker Linda and Fraxinus

The New Bus Returns

Last and least - moonbats – if anyone cares

[kburi]

See DC Ping!

[kburi]

See PING list!

[armymarinemom]

Nice bus. Thank you guys for doing such good work for such a long time.

[3D-JOY]

Nice report!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes from everyone!

See you all soon!

[Syncro]

Hay Happy Birthday!

And good job all of you, what a nice new bus

That cake looks yummy...

[trooprally]

Thanks for the great report. Great Reports come from being there for both weeks. :-))

Cake was really good also. It had that real good but sickly sweet frosting outside and a real good lemon flavored frosting between the layers. Seconds was in order for me that night.

[Mr] T

[WVNan]

Please don’t talk about cake. I’m trying to lose weight. Love the bus, love the pic of JVB....sigh. Fraxinus looks like your little brother. Happy Birthday JOY! Thank all you guys for your faithfulness. Hugs all around.

[kburi]

Trooprally,

you mean “sticky” sweet frosting.. whatever it was a dessert lovers delight..

[trooprally]

Yep, tough to loss weight eating that cake.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Maryland PING!

[Sensei Ern]

I wish I had thought of the id “panhandler”.

[oneamericanvoice]

Haven’t checked in for awhile. Knew you’d be out there just like we are here on the Left Coast. Great job!!! Happy belated birthday to 3-D Joy! Lookin’ better all the time! Must be the good vibes from the street corner!

Recently, our Sunday rally crew realized that we hae done 365 days of rallies! Amazing! Not surprising though since we’ve been out there since just before the Iraq War started. And we have no plans of stopping. Additionally, my boyfriend and I realized that we have done 700 Friday night rallies. Mission is still ongoing!

[kburi]

Thanks for the comment.

when are you all coming east?

Great job you are doing!

Supporting the troops and their families is vital, even more so now with the no nothing president.

[oneamericanvoice]

You’re are welcome! You deserve more than words! Alas!

Not coming east anytime soon....unfortunately. When are your heading west?

Agreed! Our presence is vital. We are committed (sometimes I think we should be committed...ha ha) to the cause. It has now become part of the routine.

[mgta]

Regarding the Bus returning from the “Friday Night Dinners” sponsored by The Aleethia Foundation...As you have noticed, we are no longer using the “New World Bus” that is because of a lost of sponsorship in paying half the costs...so we are using WRAMC buses which are different on some Fridays due to the size of our group coming out to dinner. We usually have the DAV bus and one other bus...but they don’t always return at the same time...But I know the injured troops are delighted to see all of you every Friday night...thanks for everything you folks do to let these brave men and women know that America has not forgotten what they do for our freedom and all their sacrifices. God Bless you all!!!