2013 Warrior Ride

September 12 - 15, 2013

2013 marked the Eighth Annual Warrior Ride of the Willis Foundation. This year the Riders journeyed 200+ miles from New Buffalo, MI, through South Haven, Holland, and then on to the Fort Custer National Cemetery where Corporal Willis is buried.

The riders continued to Bronson Park in Kalamazoo where the riders stopped to be joined by our ‘Last Leg’ riders who traveled with the Warrior Riders to the Kalamazoo Country Club where a reception for the riders, families, guests, and service people from the base was held on Sunday, September 15th, 2013 at 2pm.

2013's recipients are the children and step-children of Staff Sergeant Mark H. Schoonhoven’s, Nickolus Ramsey Schoonhoven, Anjelika Schoonhoven, Ava Schoonhoven, Sylvia Loffer, Forrest Loffer and a child that was dependent on Staff Sergeant Schoonhoven, Sheista Perry. These children will receive scholarships for college totaling at least $60,000 this year from the Corporal Willis Foundation.

Staff Sergeant Schoonhoven, of Fort Carson, Colorado (formerly of Plainwell, MI), joined the Army in 2006, serving as a motor transport operator for the 32nd Transportation Company, 4th Infantry Division.  His parents, Deb and Harry Schoonhoven, reside in Kalamazoo, MI.

Staff Sergeant Mark H. Schoonhoven passed away on January 20, 2013 as a result of injuries suffered in Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving behind the 6 children above who will be honored with scholarships at the close of this year’s annual Warrior Ride, an approximately 250-mile bicycle ride through Michigan.

The Warrior Ride takes place September 12th – September 15th, 2013, with a concluding ceremony taking place on Sunday, September 15th, 2013 @ 2:00 p.m. at the Marine Corps Base in Battle Creek, MI.[/span7]