Roar of motorcycles fill downtown Columbus as Miracle Riders head out on journey
The roar of Harley-Davidson motorcycles echoed off the brick walls of buildings Friday in downtown Columbus Friday as the Miracle Riders took off on their Pony Express-style ride to help raise money for the Columbus State University College of Education & Health Professions.
Before leaving, the group held a news conference in front of Frank D. Brown Hall on Broadway.
Scott Ressmeyer, the founder of the ride, said, “This whole pony express is extremely emotional, extremely touching and extremely gratifying.”
He said the group gets to deliver letters from people in Columbus to their loved ones across the country that share words of encouragement, hope and love.
“We’re honored to be able to carry y’all’s messages across this country of the love that you share for people all across this country,” Ressmeyer said.
Dustin Anderson, the provost, executive vice President and chief academic officer for CSU, spoke after Ressmeyer. He said this is the fourth year the Miracle Riders have ridden in support of CSU.
The Miracle Riders met their goal of raising $1 million for the nursing school. The money has been used to set up three clinical simulation labs to train healthcare professionals and others who provide direct medical care to infants, children and expectant mothers..
“The way in which they’ve helped us advance what we’re doing with our nursing students, there’s no way we could underscore how vital and important that is,” Anderson said.
“I can’t express my gratitude deeply enough,” Anderson said.
After he spoke, the call came for the riders to mount their motorcycles and start their journey.
The bikes thundered through downtown Columbus before turning onto Veterans Parkway and then Victory Drive en route to their first stop at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.
There, the group read a letter from Ken Killingsworth to Kasinal Cashe White, sister of Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in December 2021.
Cashe was recognized for his heroic actions on Oct. 17, 2005, when he pulled six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the wreckage of a Bradley fighting vehicle that had erupted into flames.
In the incident, Cashe suffered second- and third-degree burns to 72% of his body. He refused evacuation until the other wounded soldiers were taken to safety, according to the citation.
Cashe died from his injuries Nov. 8, 2005, at age 35 at Brooke Army Medical Hospital in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Killingsworth served alongside Cashe in Iraq and wrote a letter to Cashe’s sister thanking her for her work in helping his friend and her brother receive the Medal of Honor.
Cashe loved fishing and could lighten the mood after a long day, Killingsworth said.
Killingsworth said his team became involved in a firefight during an operation in Iraq and captured some enemies, requiring them to call in a “deuce and a half,” a nickname for the M35 cargo truck.
Cashe’s platoon reacted with water, ammo and “all the things that you need after it’s been a long day,” Killingsworth said
Killingsworth said the firefight took place on the Tigris River. Cashe, whom Killinsworth said carried a fishing pole in his vehicle all the time, put his arm around Killingsworth and jokingly asked, “So, after all that, Ken, did you get any fishing done down there?’
The group then headed into the National Infantry Museum, where they read Killingsworth’s letter in front of Cashe’s Medal of Honor, which is in a display case outside the museum’s exhibit on all the soldiers who have won the prestigious award.
After reading the letter, the group mounted their bikes again to head on their journey across the United States — 9,300 miles, 16 states and 21 days.
A total of 14 Miracle Riders are on the trip while an additional eight regional riders will deliver personal greetings to people in Georgia, Florida and Alabama, according to the news release.
