Dayton and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

We pressed on with a few days rest behind us. The spirit of the public kept us going. We were on our own, there would be no support from our home base in Massachusetts behind us. What lay ahead was any one's guess. We had made it this far and were succeeding with our goal of informing the Nation and bring it squarely to their attention. The miles were starting to take their toll on us and we were only 400 miles into the crossing. I wonder if I could be able to do the whole trip. Would we receive the same support from the rest of the Country? That would turn out to be wishful thinking.Here in the well populated heartland, It had been relatively easy, we eat almost everyday, a few times a week we sleep in beds and were never far from a town. I knew that it would change with the terrain. For now we would reach Dayton in a few hours. Along the road we received word that a nearby town wanted to present us with their letter of support. Barry rode to that town for the letter and I would meet him in Dayton the next day. A man from a veterans group stopped me on the road. He had the phone number of a reporter that wanted to talk to us. I followed him to a pay phone and spoke to the reporter. The reporter asked what time I would arrive. On horseback that is always hard to tell. I told the reporter that if they could tell me exactly how many miles it was from where I stopped to where they were I would be able to tell them. I knew that at a walking pace we were covering about 4-5 miles an hour. the reporter said they thought it was either 12-18 miles to their location. That didn't help.Arrangements had been made for me to spend the night at Wright-Patterson Air force Base. After meeting with the city officials I was lead out to the base. The military police escorted me a few miles from the gate to an open field where I could camp for the night. I hobbled my and let her graze on the green grass of the field. I was told that I couldn't lit any fires, which didn't make any difference since I didn't have anything to cook. Night had fallen, I unrolled my sleeping bag and went to sleep early. I was awaken about midnight by the lights and sounds of a jeep approaching. I got up to see who it was. A man got out of the jeep and walked into its lights. He was the commanding general of the base. The general was concerned about the state of affairs that were strangling the effectiveness of the military at the time. We spoke for almost an hour. He explained to me his concerns of government policies that he felt were not in the best interest of this country. We talked about the changing attitudes that the country was going through. I explained that it was one of the reasons I had decided to get involved. We as Americans were loosing our voice. Too many people felt hopelessly trapped in changes at their didn't agree with and powerless to effect change. I told him that this policy of leaving men behind and pretending they didn't exist was the last straw for me. I would not be represented by the bureaucrats in Washington this way. I was a citizen with a voice and had never believed that government could operate without hearing from the public. I told him of the division in the Congress, how some were fight not only to have these men returned, but were fight for the principles this Country stood for. This was the message I hoped the people were getting. He told me I was setting a good example for the country to follow. I said I could do no less, I had a daughter to raise in this country and I had a obligation as a citizen of this country.I don't know if the general thought that I would somehow have a voice, after this trip, that politicians would listen to, if he did he was wrong. My intend was to follow the example of Cincinnatius and return to my own life afterward. I met up with Barry the next day, a few more interviews and we were on our way again. On the other side of Vandalia we stopped to water the horses at a roadside lake. We were met by some people that told us we were expected in Englewood. Somewhere outside of lewisburg we were invited to a family's home for the night. Time has clouded the names of all the wonderful people we met along the way, but there were many. It was another hundred miles to the next major city of Indianapolis, Indiana and the national headquarters of the American Legion. I hoped that there, we could raise some necessary funding and better organize this effort.