PAINESVILLE, Ohio — From Eugene, Oregon to Arlington National Cemetery, a group is on a cross-country ride to honor and remember those who died while serving our country.
“We are stopping to honor a total of 68 fallen soldiers and their families and through 18 different states,” said Warren Williamson, the Executive Director of the Tribute to Fallen Soldiers: Eugene, Oregon. “It's a mission of love. It's a mission of reverence.”
On Sunday, the group paid tribute to Painesville native Kyle McKee. He and five other soldiers were killed after their helicopter crashed while flying on a peacekeeping mission in Egypt two years ago.
“My husband fell the exact same day in the same crash,” said Kathleen Sherman, the wife of another fallen soldier. “He was a Blackhawk crew chief. He was actually training under Kyle that day. They were sitting next to eachother.”
A portion of State Route 86 has been renamed the SSG Kyle R. McKee Memorial Highway in his honor.
The Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Motorcycle Ride is a convoy that’s been carrying a torch from Oregon to Virginia.
“We would guard and honor and protect the flame as we travel, because it represents the spirit and the service and the life and the sacrifice of all of our fallen service members,” Williamson said. “So on this ride, it will remain burning for 30 consecutive days, and then we'll extinguish it inside of Arlington on Sunday, August 7, during our closing ceremony.”
A bell will be rung 68 times for each of the fallen 68 soldiers being honored on this year’s ride.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
