Hello to all riders and supporters of "Run for The Wall".

My name is Stephen VanHecke (a.k.a. "Flag Man"), and I generally ride at the very back, outside the run, except at our stops.  This is because I fly the full sized (3ft x 5ft) American Flag on a permanent mount on my motorcycle and will not furl it.  While in motion, I am NOT part of the "Run", nor is the "Run" in any way responsible for me.  I only officially join the "Run" at the stops.

Over the years, I have flown the Flag for:

2006: To honor all of our heroes.
2007: A Marine friend that was sent to Falujah.
2008: For my Grandfather, a WWII Army Air Corp Veteran who passed away. (NOTE: This year I have vowed to fly the flag till all our troops are home.)
2009: Due to the current economy and my eldest daughter going to college, I could not afford to go to DC this year, but was able to meet in Weatherford, TX and departed the "Run" at the I20 / 635 split.
2010: To honor all of our heroes.
2011: To honor all of our heroes.

As of June 2011, I will have ridden with a full sized American Flag on my motorcycle for a total of 71,500 + miles.  I have ridden in steady crosswinds of 35 mph, with gusts to 45 mph.  My motorcycle has been enhanced and reinforced to support the full sized flag since 22:43 on 09/11/2001.  I have since then modified and enhanced the stability of the flag mounting as I come up with better ideas.

2010: The 1983 Honda CX650C I have ridden the in past, with over 80, 000 miles, needs work to make it reliable enough to take on the run.  I cannot find these parts.  This year I rode a 2002 Kawasaki KZ1000-P21 retired police motorcycle, and yes, with a full size flag mounted on it.  On the Kawasaki, I used 3/16 inch American Steel angle iron to create the base plate-mounting bracket that my backrest and seat mounted to.  All bolts, nuts and washers were grade 8 steel.  All the brackets mount directly to original existing mount points on the bike.

2010: On the way out to the Wall, I mounted a new Flag on the bike in Wytheville, VA.  I flew the Wytheville Flag it to DC and then in Rolling Thunder.  I then removed the Wytheville Flag and replaced it with a new one, on the way home I dropped the Wytheville Flag off with Mayor Trent since this was our 10th year anniversary of going through Wytheville.

2011: I was "Encouraged" to go on ahead and take pictures.  You will see that this year there are a LOT more photos than in previous years.  If you cannont find pictures of yourselves in the photos that the official photographer took, you may be able to find some of yourselves in the ones I took.

I have put all the pictures I have personally taken online for all of you to enjoy.

Please feel free to download the ones that involve you, your school, your post, or your organization etc.

NOTE:  You may ONLY use the pictures posted here for personal use OR for fundraising to support (directly or indirectly) Run for the Wall, Wounded Warrior, or other projects that Run for the Wall officially supports.  I am not sure at this time that rftw.org has a paypal or way to donate directly to it, but I am sure that someone in the contact list might know if you wish to donate directly.  I would like to thank all of the individuals and organizations out there who support Run for the Wall's mission each year, and hope that you will be able to do so again this coming year.

To the left, you will see the years listed.  When you click on the year, it will open up a separate window with the days listed.  Click on the day you wish to view, and the thumbnails will open in the center window.  when you click on the thumbnail, it will open the larger version of the picture, you can then "right-click" the picture and save it to your computer.

IF you wish the FULL-Sized version, you will have to contact me at stephen at van-hecke dot net. (I am trying to avoid spammers, so am not putting it in the email format, you can type it into your email program correctly).