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WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE - A pair of veterans stopped by the White Sands Missile Range area while on a quest to educate and inspire the country on the service of America's veterans.
Doug Adams, his wife, Deb Lewis, and their dog, Daisy, are riding across America for the Duty Honor America tour. As part of the tour, Adams is riding his bicycle over 16,000 miles in a zig-zag pattern across the United States, with Deb and Daisy following in an RV to support Adams and help bring attention to their cause with the vehicle's impressive body art.
Adams' goal is to ride his bicycle through all 50 states, sharing stories and bringing attention to the service and sacrifices of all American service members past and present. Adams started his ride at Fort Drum, N.Y., and rode to Maine and down the entire East Coast and then across the southern states. "I've cycled a little over 5,000 miles now. We're on our way heading west from Fort Bliss and El Paso," Adams said.
At each stop Adams tries to get local cyclists to ride along with him over a portion of the route.
"Part of the reason I like that is, in addition to having the folks there to ride with me, I also get a chance to talk to them about their stories," Adams said.
As they move across the country, the couple tries to collect these stories for publication.
"If you have any more stories to put on our website or know of any groups that are really helping, let us know and we'll help get the word out," Lewis said.
Adams and Lewis hope that by collecting the stories of America's servicemembers, they can help inspire young people and prevent the loss of valuable anecdotal history.
"This is just taking service to another level, it's an investment in the country and we are proud to do it," Lewis said.
Adams stopped at Veterans Park in Las Cruces to meet with local leaders, including WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Felipe Paul, former Las Cruces Mayor Pro Tem Emeritus Dolores Archuleta and Xochitl Torres, a field representative from U.S. Sen. Tom Udall's office. Archuleta explained how the Veterans Memorial at Veterans Park came about, and how its wall lists the names of all of Do a Ana counties service members who lost their lives in the defense of the nation.
Adams also met with members of the 2nd Engineer Battalion out of WSMR, as well as a number of Las Cruces veterans. This was a nice surprise for Lewis, since she served as an engineer as well, including a deployment to Iraq. She spoke briefly with members of the 573rd Clearance Company about her time as an engineer, and the evolving role of the combat engineer and the new emphasis on route clearance and counter IED operations.
"It wasn't always that way, but that's the role we really need to do because someone needs to do it and we do it really well," Lewis said.
Arrangements for Adams' and Lewis' visit to Las Cruces were made through the cooperation of White Sands Missile Range, the city of Las Cruces, and the Association of the United States Army.
"We have a lot of contacts in town and we had to get hold of Dolores Archuleta. and she was wonderfully helpful in securing Veterans Park," said Alan Tyree, chapter president of the White Sands chapter of AUSA.
Tyree thanked the Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Service, Sen. Udall's office, and the support of WSMR's active duty soldiers for their help and attendance.
After speaking about his ride, Adams got on the road west, accompanied by members of the Las Cruces Bike and Chowder Club.
