Progress

One step closer!!!! Once received in Texas the Lincoln would have a small wiring issue addressed, and she received a mild audio upgrade including a Bluetooth set up allowing us to keep the original radio and classic look in place but allow the future drivers to listen to music while cruising the streets of MCAS Miramar by playing their favorite tunes from their selected audio device. Once that was complete the Lincoln underwent a full paint correction, ceramic coating, and application of the new livery. Once the new 4th Generation Livery was upon the Lincoln it was officially known once again as the Tanker Lincoln or more notably its squadron identifier as the RaiderMobile. While these final steps were overseen in Texas the foundation had reached out to Marines from the Lincolns past, the command, and a few other supporters to put together the crew who would not only make the trip west...

After the visit in mid-October with the command and the Marines at the squadron in San Diego, the foundation returned to Texas and the Lincoln was in New Jersey. While up in New Jersey the Lincoln would be worked on by a few shops, and the planning of the next Livery to adorn the Lincoln was well underway. Meetings with all those involved in the current progress occurred over the next few months to keep the progress moving forward. A few issues were discovered and repaired, the final design of the livery was completed and a mock up design was helping to accomplish the vision of our planned future delivery. With the logistics now in place to have the Lincoln shipped to Texas where the Lincoln would undergo phase two preparations prior to a cross-country road and delivery trip to MCAS Miramar, the planning to execute a delivery and return the RaiderMobile to the Marines at the squadron...

The New Year has come and gone. 2019 was a slow year with fundraising and progress on the actual restoration. Since our program audit in June 2019, we have made some changes to our current course of action. The audit consisted of a physical and financial assessment of the program. In January 2020, when we submitted the required tax forms for the 501(c)3 status, we had a meeting to discuss the plan forward. As previously recorded we had raised just under $30,000.00. That amount was used to discuss our new COA, and the desire to deliver a safe drivable RaiderMobile by the end of 2021. The shops that had previously assessed the Lincoln still agreed that to accomplish this goal the cost would still be upwards of the estimated $60,000.00, and that with the current funds raised, only a partial restoration would be possible. At that time a decision was made, and with a new COA in place (one...

Since our last update in August, there have been a few things happen for the Foundation that we are excited to share! First, as we had discussed in our previous update the Foundation set up a small table at the 2018 MCAS Miramar Air Show. We were able to help raise awareness, tell the illustrious history of the Lincoln and promote our current efforts to raise funds for the restoration. We got to catch up with old friends and fellow Raiders currently serving within the command. We hope that this venue can allow us a full display of the RaiderMobile once complete, displayed proudly next to the mighty KC-130J BattleHerks of today. On October 1st, we held our second raffle based fundraising event in San Diego at the AleSmith Brewing Company. Thanks to their continued support and the donations collected we were able to raise just over $1100.00. Many thanks to all those who were able to come...

These past six months have been good for the foundation. Our shares, likes, and comments on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/theraidermobilefoundation) grow in numbers and continue to receive traffic daily. Our webpage is continually getting more visits both return and new from all over and our fundraising efforts have now taken us over the $18,000.00 mark. We currently are still raffling off the limited-edition KC-130J inspired custom made Bremont Watch, valued at $6900.00. Tickets are only $50.00 each. The foundation also has the Joe Everson commissioned acrylic painting of "The Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima" valued at $950.00, and tickets are only $20.00 each. This artwork has been dedicated and signed by the artist and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and a copy of the video from its creation in his gallery. 100% of the proceeds from both of these will go to the...

Happy New Year!! With the holidays now past and the New Year in full stride I hope this update finds you all well. Both the website and the Facebook page for the RaiderMobile continue to receive traffic daily. Fundraising continues and we have currently raised $10,849.00 to date. With this update, I am proud to announce we have been approved by the Bremont Watch Company a luxury aviation-themed British watchmaker based in England, to raffle off a limited-edition KC-130J inspired custom made watch. This watch will be the first of our fundraisers for 2018 in support of the cars fundraising and restoration. The retail value of the watch is over $6900.00. We have tickets for sale at $50.00 each. 100% of the proceeds will go to the fundraising effort for the cars restoration. The winning name will be drawn live at the VMGR-352 "El Toro" Raider Reunion planned for October 5-6 2018, as well...

Happy Birthday Marines!!! Once again, the time for celebration has come and gone as we were happy to celebrate the 242nd birth of our Corps. These past few months, myself and the other two members have been spent talking back and forth via email and phone calls about future fundraising ideas. We've also finalized and resubmitted the 501(c)3 package to the IRS. So now we wait...! I have also been in contact with another restoration shop - that has shown interest in our project - to discuss our future plans for the restoration and get professional advice on the best way forward, once the financing is in place. The cars are currently being stored while this process unfolds and are checked on from time to time. The cars will remain in storage until the day we can begin with Phase III of our campaign as stated in Part III under the "Concept Tab." As we continue to receive donations,...

With the holidays now past and the New Year in full stride I hope this update finds you all well. The RaiderMobile Foundation received some attention from an outside source in regards to our project, vision, and timeline for the project. I hope to have more to report on this topic in the future but for now it was a very positive experience to share with them the history of the Lincoln, and have few of our former Marines that have been involved with the Lincoln in the past contacted to discuss the cars illustrious history. The foundation held the second DOUBLE YOUR DONATION event during the month of December and we matched the donations of our supporters in the amount of $738.00, bringing our current total raised to $10,181.00 in the past 13 months. In early January, through the assistance of the leadership forward, and to celebrate the holiday season, the foundation was fortunate to be...