Vehicles that once carried soldiers and sailors across our nation’s 20th century battlefields rolled down Main Street in Goshen Thursday.
The convoy of military vehicles was re-enacting the Army convoy led by a young Dwight D. Eisenhower that passed through Goshen 90 years ago. That convoy was traveling the newly completed Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway.
“I really liked that,” said Glen Null, who watched the convoy from a spot at the Goshen Historical Society headquarters on Main Street. Null explained he has a son-in-law in the National Guard and his son is in the Army Reserves.
“I just loved it,” said John Horwarth, Goshen. “It was a good opportunity to experience history. I appreciate the Chamber of Commerce letting us know about it in an e-mail.”
Referring to the original trip across country on the Lincoln Highway, he pointed out it took soldiers two months to make the trip back then.
Kyle Horwarth, 11, said the convoy was “pretty cool.” He said his favorite vehicles were the semi-trucks.
Tailgating at the VFW
Suzan Hutchison, Goshen, watched the convoy while “tailgating” in the parking lot of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“It was very cool. A couple of the guys had their grandkids riding with them. Wouldn’t that be great to take a trip with your grandfather? We saw a couple hippies, too, Vietnam veterans,” she said with a laugh.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Mike Hutchison, who joined the Marine Corps when he was 17 and later served in Vietnam. “It wasn’t at all what I had expected,” he said, as he expected it to be a modern military convoy.
Instead the group included many apparent older veterans who were enjoying themselves driving the antique trucks and Jeeps.
“You could tell they had a lot of pride in what they were doing,” he said.
Steve Fenner explained he went to the VFW to see the convoy after learning about it in Elkhart Thursday.
“I saw a couple old vehicles at the Jiffy Lube in Elkhart,” Fenner said, as owners were apparently waiting to join the convoy as it came through Elkhart County.
Judy Fowler, Goshen, said she thought it was a great show of support of the former soldiers.
“I thought it was really great. It was something I had never seen before,” Fowler said. “We should be saluting them more often.”
Art Pope, advance party leader for the convoy, said the trip has been going well so far.
“There have been lots of flags. Lots of people honking their horns and waving. It’s been really nice to see,” Pope said.
The convoy left Washington D.C. on Saturday and is expected to arrive in Oakland, Calif. on July 8.
The convoy
The convoy of approximately 45 vehicles drives about 150 miles a day before fueling up and calling it a night. Members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association is sponsoring the convoy. The main convoy has had MVPA chapters across the country join in for part of the trip.
“A group from Ohio is joining us to South Bend, then turning around and going back,” Pope said. “We have all sorts of chapters doing that kind of thing.”
The convoy began June 13 and will travel 3,250 miles to San Francisco in 26 days.
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