Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/738714
6 nNovember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS by Jon DeMaria MALIBU, CALIF., SEP. 11— Temperatures cooled as I crossed the Santa Monica Mountains from the San Fernando Valley on my Road King with my fi ancée, Raeanon, joining me on the back. As we left the 101 free- way heading west through the brisk morning fog that swept the vast farm- lands I spotted a pack of bikes ahead. The sight of other bikes was a wel- come reassurance that we were on the right track for the staging point of the ninth annual Ride to the Flags at Naval Base Ventura County, located just off the Pacifi c Coast Highway. Upon arrival we joined in with the next group of about 40 bikes set to undergo a thorough screening by mil- itary police with bomb-sniffi ng dogs before entering the base to take in the opening ceremonies. Inside the base, Ride to the Flags and White Heart Foundation founder, Ryan Sawtelle, took the stage and kicked off the day's festivities. Ryan introduced George Gray, announcer for The Price is Right, who emceed the morning's base ceremony. Gray introduced a handful of celebrities, including TV's NCIS LA star Christian Olsen, and Emmy award winning Fox news journalist, Adam Housley, who were on hand to support this year's cause. All of this year's funds will go to USMC Cpl. Thomas (Caleb) Getscher, a veteran who was severely wounded by an IED in 2011 while on foot patrol in Afghanistan. Caleb addressed the crowd and told his humble version of his harrowing story, although the full story is truly incredi- ble and inspiring. After slipping into a coma from his traumatic brain injury, Caleb underwent dozens of surgeries losing three of his limbs. Doctors held little hope that he would come back, regardless; his family never lost hope and days later Caleb awoke. Caleb lived at Walter Reed where he under- went more surgeries and therapy. One year after his injury, Caleb married his fi ancée Emily and they along with their then almost 2-year-old daugh- ter moved into the barracks together. Caleb retired on May 30, 2014 as a Cpl. The ceremony continued with a prayer by the chaplain, a speech by NBVC Commanding Offi cer Capt. Chris Janke, thanking those who have served and who currently serve. The Star Spangled Banner was then sung, followed by a 21-gun salute; there was even a fi ve plane fl yover. Immediately following the cere- mony, riders took to their bikes and lined up for the ride down the PCH. The 28-mile ride down the coast was breathtaking. The PCH offers some of the best views of the California coast- line. But the view isn't the only cool thing about this ride; it's also fully escorted by motorcycle police block- ing cars the entire way. The looks on people's faces as a dozen police bikes, followed by Kevyn Major Howard's Fueled By The Fallen police cars with full lights and sirens, fi re and military trucks, and about a thousand bikes never gets old. All along the route, people watched in amazement. Some shooting pictures, others cheering with excitement, and the rest just scratching their heads wondering what's going on. It's quite an experience. The ride ends at Malibu Bluffs Park where over 3,000 fl ags fl y across the street on Pepperdine University's Alumni Park in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11. Another gigantic fl ag drapes suspended between two fully extended fi re truck ladders at the entrance to the rally; inside there are vendors, beer gardens, food trucks, and this year the live music by Petty Cash was off the hook. While enjoying some cold beer in the VIP tent, I ran into Ryan Sawtelle and had a chance to ask him about the history of the ride. "I built those fl ags over there in Pepperdine's front lawn in 2008 as a student. That same year started a motorcycle ride to raise funds for the members of the military. As things grew bigger I started a non- profi t organization called White Heart Foundation. I noticed how ineffi ciently a lot of other nonprofi ts were operating and if I just made our foundation more effi cient it would be so much better. We basically crowdfund the issues that a lot of our warriors are having. A lot of people think that when you lose three limbs in Afghanistan that you're going to be taken care of with a blank check from the government for the rest of your life, and that's just not the case. There's so much that they're not afforded, there's so much stuff that they need and so much help that they need. So we thought if we just give people a conduit where people can give directly to these warriors, that's what they want to do. They don't want to be giving to a foundation that takes half the money for overhead expenses and then gives the rest to some pro- gram that may help them. We want to create a conduit where we provide a bank account for every warrior under our name that we control, and donors can donate to the warrior of their choice on our network and one hundred percent of that goes towards that warrior. Before we even started the event this year we raised over $35,000 and I'm hoping that with what we raised today we'll be close to the $50,000 mark and that's good. We can do a lot for Caleb with that for sure." When I asked Ryan what he would tell anyone who is considering attend- ing the ride next year, he said, "Next year's ride is going to be on September 10, so you should come check it out. I mean, when can you just waltz onto a naval base and attend a ceremony? And to have the PCH shut down for 30 miles, this is something that took years and years of coaxing between the Department of Defense and the City of Malibu and you're not going to fi nd another event like it." After hanging out with Ryan we headed out to listen to some more great music. I must say not only is this event getting bigger every year, but it seems to get more fun, too. I even ran into the mayor of Malibu, Skylar Peak, who told me, "I think that the most important thing RIDE TO THE FLAGS 2016 Filling a wounded warrior's needs Picking up where the VA leaves off White Heart Foundation Founder Ryan Sawtelle leads hundreds of bikes down California's Pacifi c Coast Highway to Malibu Bluffs Park for the Ride to the Flags rally This year's band, Petty Cash, rocks the crowd at Malibu Bluffs Park