Memorial Ride for Fallen Soldiers
There was thunder you could hear for miles in Western Minnesota this weekend. The sound came from a line of motorcycles almost five miles long. The meaning behind this ride did not get lost underneath the rumble.
More than 400 motorcycles, almost 600 riders were part of the 2nd annual L.T.D. Memorial ride, which went from Montevideo to Madison, then Ortonville to Morris, and finally, ended in Appleton. The ride was in memory of three members of the 151st who lost their lives in Baghdad in 2005. The money raised will provide scholarships bearing the names of the three men.
First Lieutenant Jason Timmerman, Staff Sergeant David Day and Sergeant Jesse Lhotka were killed by a roadside bomb as they were tending to other troops injured in a rollover.
"They went to set the gurney down on the guardrail to evac(uate) the one guy and the bomb went off right underneath them," Staff Sergeant Chad Turner recalls. Turner was 15 yards away from the blast that killed his best friend, Jesse Lhotka. "I'll deal with it for the rest of my life," Turner said.
Turner has dealt with it by organizing the L.T.D. ride. Last year, there were 108 bikes. This year there were four times as many. The collective crew took off from the 151st's home base in Montevideo.
"Your emotions take hold but yet it's a happy emotion that all these people came out to remember our 3 fallen soldiers," Turner said.
People held up flags from driveways and waved from sidewalks as the long line of bikes made their way out of "Monty." After a brief stop at the Madison VFW, the bikers headed to Ortonville, the weekend drill site for 1st Lieutenant Jason Timmerman. "He'd be so happy because he is such a people person. He just always wanted to make sure we were taking care of our soldiers and doing everything we could to take care of them," 1st Platoon Sergeant James Phalan said, as he handed out water to thirsty bikers.
When the motorcade arrived in Morris, organizers noticed the line was even longer, more motorcycles had joined in along the route. Morris is Staff Sergeant David Day's hometown. His parents, who were riding, were clearly overwhelmed by the honor and the turnout. "I'm thinking about how much Dave would have loved being here, he would have loved this," his mother Vicki said. "I thought of him the whole time. What this would have meant to him or what it means to us. We feel him, we know he's here," David Day Sr. said.
The last leg of the mission went from Morris to Sergeant Jesse Lhotka's hometown of Appleton. The interesting thing about Appleton - every street is named after a soldier who lost his life in the line of duty.
When the long line of bikes got to town, riders took an immediate left to cruise down Lhotka Avenue. "Well I have to be honest with you there's a few tears that run down my cheeks and I think nothing could make this better other than if the boys were here on the ride with us. But its real heart touching," Jesse's mother Beverly Lhotka said.
