2014 Warrior Ride

September 11 - 14, 2014

2014 marks the Ninth Annual Warrior Ride of the Willis Foundation.

This year the riders will journey 200+ miles from Manistee, MI through Whitehall, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek and then on to the Fort Custer National Cemetery where Corporal Willis is buried. The riders will then continue on to Bronson Park in Kalamazoo where the riders will be joined by our ‘Last Leg’ riders who travel with the Warrior Riders to the Kalamazoo Country Club.

At the Country Club, the Willis Foundation will host a reception for the riders, families, guests, and service people from the base. During this reception, the 2014 scholarship recipients will be awarded their scholarships.

Chloe Mills, the daughter of Staff Sergeant Travis Mills, is the 2014 Corporal Christopher Kelly Willis Foundation scholarship recipient. Chloe will receive a college scholarship intended to cover the entire unmet need of her college tuition and expenses.

Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of Afghanistan in 2012. Travis was injured by an IED while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries.

Zekiah Thrailkill, the son of Corporal Robert “Bobby” Lee Thrailkill, Jr., is a 2014 Corporal Christopher Kelly Willis Foundation scholarship recipient. Zekiah will receive a college scholarship intended to cover the entire unmet need of his college tuition and expenses.

Bobby Thrailkill, of the United States Marine Corps, was on his first deployment to Iraq in 2010 when he stepped on an IED during a foot patrol. He sustained serious injuries and at the age of 19, suffered the traumatic amputations of both legs above the knee. Bobby spent 25 months in recovery and physical therapy at Walter Reed Hospital.