Editor,
With the recent bad publicity regarding motorcycle gangs, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Riders would like to share some good news.
While we are not a club or a group, we are the VFW Riders, Chapter 1, Washington state. We proudly wear a Maltese Cross and Veterans of Foreign Wars name, and our motives are very basic.
We are here to help veterans. Most of the rides we make are for charity causes, veterans and civilians alike.
In the past year and a half, we earned and donated $2,000 to the Opportunity Council alone for use by Whidbey veterans only.
Additionally, we donated hundreds of dollars in goods — laundry soap, clothing, toiletries, etc. — for the Opportunity Council to use for vets, to assist them in their quest for employment, housing and other needs as the agency sees fit.
Have you passed by a cemetery lately and seen a line of riders standing tall with American flags?
That’s us.
And a group of other riders called the Patriot Guard helps veterans’ families in their time of need. If requested, we’ll escort the family members to the ceremonies. We ride to fight cancer, promote Ryan’s House, Sea-Tac USO, Make-A-Wish Foundation and much more.
Our reputation for helping has led to requests for us to participate in far more parades and fundraisers than we could possibly attend.
We led the annual Autumn Leaf Festival in Leavenworth, participated in the Auburn Veterans Day Parade, the largest Veterans Parade on the West Coast, and, of course, parades in Oak Harbor and Coupeville.
The Riders participated in the Coupeville Water Festival by picking up the trash. We had four wheels there.
Earlier this year, the Riders were instrumental in arranging and presenting the Order of St. Barbara Award to a 94-year-old veteran for his service to the artillery community during World War II.
It may not seem like much, but it was an interstate effort originating in Texas and culminating with 20-plus bikers in full garb and an Army staff sergeant in full military dress uniform pulling into a residence in a quiet Anacortes neighborhood.
It was a touching and fulfilling event.
Our Riders are responsible for the majority of the work on the soon-to-be dedicated Washington-state-recognized Veterans Memorial at our Post on Goldie Road.
Swing by and take a look. The soldier silhouettes, cross and service flags make a beautiful setting for the personalized memorial bricks being installed as you read this.
Our fundraising activities included “violent” activities like s Ice Cream Socials, Twister Grudge Matches and the You Tube Famous Fight Night, during which not a mark was left.
Our next fundraiser is a pancake breakfast 8-10 a.m. on May 31 at Applebee’s. Buy a ticket and join us.
In closing, don’t think that just because someone is riding a motorcycle and wearing a vest with patches, that your life is in danger or that they must be up to no good.
There’s a lot of good riders out there. We’re proud to be some of them.
Skip Johnson
Myron Brundage
Fritz Ratcliffe
