ALPHA, Illinois -- About 30 bicyclists rode through town, greeting students at Alwood Elementary School on their 500 mile trip. Gold Star Mission 500's journey is to honor fallen soldiers and their families.
The streets through Alpha were also lined with about 600 flags. Elementary students waved flags of their own while cheering the bicyclists through town.
"It is easily the most humbling thing I've ever experienced, honoring these guys, our fallen soldiers," Jacob Harris, a Gold Star Mission bicyclist says. "I can't even describe whenever you talk to moms, dads, and wives, and seeing their kids."
The group took a break at the Oxford American Legion in Alpha, and met Gold Star families who've lost loved ones in the military.
September 26, 2019 is day three for the bicyclists, out of five total days. They started in Marseilles on September 24 and plan to finish their trip on Saturday, September 28 in Wheaton, Illinois.