Bicyclists ride to support wounded soldiers

Army Lt. James Beere and more than 90 other bicyclists rode through Prince William County on Sunday in support of the nation’s wounded warriors and their families.

“Our whole trip is about 1,000 miles,” Beere, who grew up in Manassas, said as the group paused in front of the Iwo Jima statue at the entrance to Quantico Marine Corps base. “By the time we’re done, we’ll have stopped in 30 different towns and cities all along the way and visited different historic monuments.”

The first leg of the 2008 Wounded Warrior Unity Tour began Sept. 18 when Beere, Sgt. Maj. Estevan Sotorosado and Sgt. Perry Cloud began an 800-mile bike ride from Fort Campbell, Ky., to Fort Eustis to raise both money and awareness for the Fort Campbell and Walter Reed Army Medical Center Fisher Houses.

The Fisher House Foundation builds homes and lodging on the grounds of military hospitals and Veterans Administration medical centers that allow family members to remain close to a loved one while the service member recovers from his or her wounds. The three soldiers are members of the Armed Forces Cycling Association.

“On rides, especially longer ones, you get tired, and when I get tired the thing that’s motivated me is thinking about those who’ve went overseas, been wounded and hurt in action,” said Cloud. “This ride is not about any of us, it’s all about them and to raise money for the foundation.”

This marks the first annual ride from Fort Campbell to Walter Reed and the second annual ride from Fort Eustis to Walter Reed.

“The hardest part of the ride would probably be the border of Kentucky and Virginia, getting to the top of mountains,” said Beere.

Sotorosado, who organized the first ride from Fort Eustis to Walter Reed in 2007, attended the Sergeant’s Major Academy a couple of years ago with Command Sgt. Maj. Brent Jorgenson, who was the first amputee to go to the academy. Jorgenson lost a leg in Iraq as the result of a blast from an improvised explosive device.

“Everybody was kind of astonished when Jorgenson showed up,” recalled Sotorosado. “To attend military school, you’ve supposed to have all your arms and legs. By him showing up we were kind of like, ‘wow, how is this guy going to do it?’ ”

On the first day of the school, Jorgenson told his classmates how he lost his leg. Wearing a prosthetic leg the next morning, Jorgenson bested most of his classmates on a run.

“He really inspired me to do more for the wounded warriors and to bring awareness to the military and to get our soldiers who were injured back into the mind of, ‘I can do it,’ ” said Sotorosado. “It’s all about our nation and our way of life. I believe we have great patriots in America, great support.”

When Sotorosado transferred from Fort Eustis to Fort Campbell shortly after last year’s ride, he immediately began planning this year’s trek.

“This year, we decided to stop at the memorials, touch the walls for those who fell and let them now we haven’t forgotten them,” he said.

The riders also stopped at Fort Belvoir on their way to Washington, D.C.

To make a donation, visit afca.us and mention the Fort Campbell riders. Donors who mention the Fort Campbell riders will have their monetary gift split between the Fort Campbell and Walter Reed Fisher Houses. Otherwise, each donation will go to the Walter Reed Fisher House.

Julia LeDoux can be reached at 703-369-5718.