Meet America at 30 miles per hour - June 11, 2009

By Sgt 1st Class Mark F. OunanJune 17, 2009

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The following was written by Sgt. 1st Class Mark F. Ounan, an Active/ Guard infantry Soldier currently assigned to the 324th Military Police Btn., Chambersburg, PA. Ounan is also the only current Soldier and Military Vehicle Preservation Association member taking place in the 2009 MVPA Convoy. Here's an exert from the journal he's keeping as he travels cross-country.

As a young boy I loved old cars, old planes, and the Army. There was only one job I ever wanted, and that was to be; I've been a Soldier for about 26 years now.

Through the years I have been lucky enough to merge two of my life-long loves into one great hobby: collecting antique Army vehicles.

One of my vehicles is a 1918 Dodge Brothers Staff Car that was used by the U.S. Army during the First World War. I don't even think most people know that Dodge is that old of a company.

I'm also a member of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association.

While stationed in Iraq two years my mother sent me a package every month. In it I could always find an Arm Motors magazine, which I always looked forward to receiving. In one issue I saw an advertisement for a cross country convoy to reenact the first convoy the Army ever tried.

I knew I had to be a part of this. I was one of the first to sign up. Since then, I've been planning this trip, and now it's finely here.

The plan is to travel across the U.S. starting in Washington, D.C., and ending 26 days later in San Francisco. Just like the first convoy did in 1919.