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Firehouse.Com News
"Thank You America" rolled into Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning to have
lunch and meet the media at Engine 12/HazMat 2 and it was another round of
hugs and handshakes and "Thank you and God Bless".
"I don’t know how the word is getting around but everywhere we’ve been,
people seem to know. Every little town we go through, there’s 200 people
along the road," said firefighter Gerard Dolan. "There is no one around and
then all of a sudden there is a family standing by their mailbox waving at
you. It makes you go harder."
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Tuesday night was spent at Engine54/Ladder 30 in Baltimore and Wednesday
would take them to the Pentagon and on into Virginia.
The six firefighters - Danny Rowan, Salvatore Princiotta, Drew Robb, Gerard
Dolan, Matthew Hornung and Ralph Perricelli - are from Ladder Co. 9, Engine
Co. 33, which lost 10 of its members in the collapse of the World Trade
Center towers.
The East Village firefighters are bicycling across the country in an effort
to show their gratitude to all those who have reached out to them with
donations and emotional support. The tour will take them through 19 states
and over 2,757 miles before coming to a close in Los Angeles, California,
the original destination for one of the flights that crashed into the World
Trade Center.
Of the firefighters, it is Dan Rowan who leads the group as the main
spokesman and the man who put this whole event together in three days. He is
the cyclist and tri-athlete who believes they can make the trip in 33 days.
He is the man who tells the stories with tears in his eyes. He wears the
medals and pins of fallen comrades and shows them to whoever asks.
Since the point of the ride is to tell America that the firefighters of New
York City appreciate the support showered upon them from all over the
country, Rowan understands his mission. "They really wanted to be there (at
Ground Zero to help) but they couldn’t. They gave donations, gave time, and
gave flowers. Now we want to speak directly to them."
It is clear they are getting back as much or more then they are giving,
through no fault of their own. Escorts, they report are constant. The lights
and sirens of one jurisdiction give way to the next. The fans like "Babes on
Bikes" a self-described group of "middle-aged women who like to ride bikes"
that met up with them in D.C. to ride for awhile, are all around. The
pictures and plaques are accumulating in the back of the chase van. The
offers of food are constant.
Firefighter Ralph Perricelli who is driving a chase van said, "I sure feel
like I am part of something historic. They need it. We need it. It’s all
overwhelming."
In the firehouse kitchen, one of dozens they will be visiting, the
sandwiches and fruit covered the table. D.C. Fire Department Chaplain
Stephen Short Sr. gave a blessing and added a short prayer for FDNY
firefighter Keith Maynard whose memorial service was being held at that hour
in Brooklyn. The Chaplain and the firefighter/cyclers spent long moments
grasping each other’s shoulders in a quiet embrace.
The firefighters together stretched across chairs and shoved down the food.
They spoke and laughed together, then readied to move on to the next venue
where again welcome of local firefighters would be warm and comforting.
For Rowan the thousands of miles that lay ahead are not troubling. He pulls
the St. Florian medal from under his shirt, from the mother of one of the
lost firefighters and his close friend, and he said with tears in his eyes,
"The only thing that is going to hurt on me is my heart. We have to ride. It
is meant to be."
After their stop in Washington D.C., the firefighters will ride on to the
Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and other southern-most states, before cutting
through Texas, New Mexico and ending in LA where a reception is planned.
Throughout the trip the team will be followed by a van full of communication
equipment, provided by Pasadena-based Disk Marketing Inc. The firm, which is
housed in one of the nation's oldest firehouses, volunteered their services
as part of an ongoing commitment to unity in the wake of the Sept. 11
attacks.
Cities that are in the path of the "Thank You America" tour include, but are
not limited to, the following:
Manhattan, New York City, Jersey City, Trenton NJ, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington DC, Charlottesville VA, Lynchburg VA, Marion NC, Bristol VA,
Knoxville TN, Athens GA, Chattanooga, Huntsville AL, Florence AL, Corinth
MS, Memphis, Brinkley AK, Little Rock AK, Russellville AK, Clarksville TN,
Ft. Smith OK, Withers Falls, Henrietta OK, Oklahoma City, Elk City OK,
Shamrock TX, Amarillo TX, Achenne, Glen Rio NM, Tucumcari NM, Santa Rosa NM,
Cline's Corner NM, Albuquerque NM, Grants NM, San Rafael NM, Zoni Indian
Reservation, ST. John AZ, ClayPool AR, Mesa AZ, Tempe AZ, Buckeye AZ,
Tonopah NV, Blythe CA, Indio CA, Palm Springs, San Bernadino and then into
Los Angeles and Pasadena.
A two-man film crew is also following firefighter/cyclers, planning to put
together a documentary following the conclusion of the trip.
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