3,000-Mile Bike Trip Brings 22-Year- Old Beachwood Vet Home From Iraq
By Bill McLaughlin
--Photo By Bill McLaughlin Torin Barnes, at left, is just 22, but he has done two tours in Iraq. He recently returned to his home in Beachwood.
Torin Barnes was just moments away from his first beer at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9503 when someone asked if he was going to join the vets' group.
"I guess so. I qualify," he shrugged.
At 22, with two combat tours in Iraq behind him, Barnes was thinking more about settling back into the routine of civilian life.
He left the Marine Corps with an honorable discharge in California last month and decided to ride his motorcycle home to Beachwood. He arrived to a rousing reception shortly before 3 p.m. May 27.
"I started off with a bunch of friends from the service," Torin said. "They went as far as St. Louis City and that's when the family took over."
Torin's father, Bill, another son and family friend Tom Hogan rode out to meet Torin and ride home with him.
The roughly 3,000-mile trip was no piece of cake, but Hogan said all four were up to the challenge.
"There was no arm twisting," said Hogan, 56, who is a member of the post's Patriot Guard. "I just washed the bike, got her ready. It's not that far because you do it in intervals of several hundred miles."
Bill Barnes, a retired Air Force master sergeant, said they took frequent breaks and didn't push it to the limit.
"My other son's a police officerin Tenafly,"Bill Barnes said. "His bike needed to stop for gas every 100 miles or so. That gave us breathers along the way. The only worry was the weather. We just got here ahead of thunderstorms near Philadelphia."
Since graduating from Toms River High School South in 2004, Barnes has seen the other side of the world. His first tour in Iraq lasted 16 months and he just finished another year overseas.
"I was asked a number of times what it would take to get me to re-enlist," the 22- year-old said. "I thought about it but decided it was time to move on with my life."
The Barnes family lives on Capstan Avenue in the Beachwood Heights section of the borough. They were greeted at the VFW post by the borough's new mayor, Ronald Jones.
Jones asked the Barneses to pose for a photo, then got a bystander to take one that included him.
Jones said he was happy to meet the family under such happy circumstances and that the young man is a source of pride for the community.
"We're proud of what you've already accomplished in your life," Jones told the young man. "And we're grateful to have you back with us."
Not missing a beat, the suddenly unemployed 22-year-old said he would start pounding the pavement looking for work this week.
"I could really use a job," he said with a smile.
Jones said he would help out any way he could.
Then it was into the reception hall where Torin Barnes could only imbibe soft drinks the last time he was there. It's an age-old story: old enough to die for your country but not old enough to drink alcohol in public.
"It's funny, but when I was here last, my father told me not to even think about drinking a beer," Torin smiled. "He didn't want me getting in trouble for underage drinking."
The young man said his four years in uniform were like time spent in another dimension.
"I tried to keep up with what's going on around here, friends from school," he said. "There are a lot of things I need to catch up on starting right now."