Remembering Sgt. David Alan Ruhren.

I can't thank you enough for putting this on your webpage. I have attached one of the very first speeches I had to write about my son for one of the countless ceremonies I had to go to. I hope this gives you a sense of who my son is.

Davey joined the guard when he was 17 - went to boot camp when he turned 18 - He then joined The 229th Army Natl. Guard Engineer Battalion in Fredericksburg, VA. He heard about another unit being short 14 men to go to Iraq - so being the man he is - volunteered to go with them - He deployed with the 276th Engineer Battalion from West Point, VA at the age of 19.

When he got to Iraq - he was still an Engineer but his job became a 50 Kal Gunner. He left for Iraq on Jan. 4th 2004 & I didn't see my son again till Nov. 2004 - he was on leave for Thanksgiving.

He was home for what seemed a minute but actually 2 weeks.

He went back to Iraq on Nov. 30th - he only had 6 weeks left & his tour was over. On Dec. 21, 2004 - a suicide bomber walked into a mess hall & ignited a bomb - we lost 22 of our finest people that day - amongst them was my son - my only child - He was only 20 yrs old. He wasn't even supposed to have been there - his unit was supposed to have been gone on their last mission before starting the process of coming home but the mission was delayed & Davey & a few of his comrades decided to go get some food to take with them.

It was the worst casualty on a military base.

In the last 2 1/2 yrs - I have been trying to do projects - trying to make some of his dreams come true. On the most part - I think I have been able to accomplish some of them but there are still a few more I need to take care of & this ride will help do a couple more.

Going to college is the only thing I have ever wanted for my son to do - I didn't care what degree he got or if he ever used it - I just wanted him to go - he was my only child & he would have been the 1st in my family to get a college degree. It's the one thing that I have been prepping him for since the day he was born. He promised me he would go to college when he got back from Iraq - my son has never broken a promise to me in his life - I have decided that one way or another - Davey will keep his promise to me - so if he can't physically go - his name can & at least this way - he is able to keep part of his promise to me.

We organized a ride to help me establish "The David Alan Ruhren Scholarship Fund"

Not only am I able to show my son how much he is loved by doing the ride but also The Scholarship fund that I am able to start in his name will help a son keep a promise to his mother.

I also wanted to do something for Davey that I know he would do if he were here - my son (if given a chance) would have been an awesome father. There wasn't a child that didn't attract to him like a magnet when he walked into a room.

Kids just loved that boy.

Unfortunately - he never had any children but that doesn't mean he can't help a child.

There are so many soldiers that don't have enough life insurance to take care of their families & if anything happens - it's the children that ultimately suffer - The Fallen Soldier Fund will at least help a child with not just school but help with something else. Maybe they have a special need or talent that they would not be able to fulfill - with this other fund - they maybe able to do so.

Even if it's only one child - It would put such a smile on Davey's face.

I can't thank you & your staff enough for helping me do this for my son. It means so much

Please know

If you have other avenues where you think someone would put this event on their calendar or are willing to donate product for the ride for us to raffle off - we would so appreciate it.

The more people learn about the ride & come - the more donations we will get for the Fund, the more product we have to raffle off or sell - again the more money we make for the Funds.

So anything that we are able to do to promote this ride & all the help we get in the process is so appreciated that words can't express.

When I first started thinking about this - I honestly didn't think more then a handful of people would be interested but so many people have heard & so many people are stepping in to help. It's become almost overwhelming with the amount of support I have been getting. Where I thought i would have only 50 people coming to the ride may now be over 300. It's truly left me speechless & I just don't think saying thank you is enough.

Please take care of your family & hug your children a little bit closer today. They just grow up way to fast.

Sincerely,

Sonja Ruhren - mother of an American Soldier "Sgt. David Alan Ruhren"

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