September 19, 2008 - This months Legion Rider dinner was great as usual! Had a great turn-out and great food! What made this dinner extra special was having Navajo Code Talker Alan Dale June and his lovely wife Virginia as our guest. A great time was had by all!
September 18, 2008 - As part of the national convention of the 105 living Medal of Honor recipients in Denver last week, several of the recipients appeared around the Denver area at local Middle and High Schools. The American Legion Riders from District 4 were honored to escort retired Army Sgt Robert Martin Patterson to Longmont High School to speak to students and other local veterans. Six riders escorted Sgt Patterson to the High School for a reception and lunch where American Legion Honor Guard and Riders also provided military honors on his arrival. Please visit our Gallery for more photos.
Rider Escort: (from left) Teresa Anderson, Larry Cleapor, Crystal Hedke, Jerry Hedke, Roger Wingerberg, Bill Thompson (not pictured, Roger London)
also see related Longmont Times Call story : http://www.timescall.com/Local-Story.asp?ID=11490
September 10, 2008 - Our September ALR meeting was an emotional event as we wished one of our founding members, Ron Eddy and his lovely wife Tuni (who has served as both Secretary & Historian) a fond farewell as they move to Arizona for a warmer climate and new adventures. Ron & Tuni have laid the foundation for our organization by following very common sense principles:
1) Never forget our
veterans, young and old
2) Always appreciate each other as friends, not just members of a group.
3) Never forget our love for riding motor cycles!
While these sounds easy, it is really important as our organization grows that we remember these principles. A great time was had by all our Riders, our wonderful "posse" and members of Post 111 joined for a presentation ceremony. We'd like to offer a very special thanks to Post 111, Louisville for hosting this months meeting and for providing a very nice (and tasty!) food spread for our event. We'd like to wish Ron & Tuni Eddy the best as they move on and hope they never forget their place amongst us, they will be missed. Please see more photos in the "Gallery" section of the web site.
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September 7, 2008 - Ride to Cheyenne VA
We had a great ride to the Cheyenne VA! Was a blast setting up a Wii Play Station and play games with some of our veterans! One of the highlights of this visit was meeting Purple Heart veteran Charles Loftus, a WWII vet from Pittsburg, PA. Charles was a naval Machinist Mate 2nd class serving on board the USS Franklin CV13 when they go hit by bombs dropped from Japanese aircraft about 30 miles of the coast of Japan. Charles showed us a plaque with a photo of him being given last rights by the Chaplin Father O'Callahan (who was also decorated for throwing live ammunition over the side while the ship was burning!). Fortunately, the Air Wing was off the ship as the Japanese attacked, still over 700 died. These are just one of the many stories that veterans share with us during visits. We highly encourage all to visit veterans in their areas just to sit and listen to these great men and women who have served tell their stories. They deeply appreciate the company, a listening ear. You will also find how fulfilling it is to visit with them! For more photos of this trip, visit our "Gallery"
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August 30, 2008 - Thunder in the Rockies
ALR District 4
Legion Riders had a great showing at Thunder in the Rockies 2008! We had allot
of folks stop by, check us out and express interest in membership! One of
the highlights was getting to meet Navajo Code Talker Sgt. Alan Dale June and
his wonderful wife Virginia. The Code Talkers played and important part of WW2
history in the Pacific Theater. The Code Talkers served in all 6 Marine
Divisions from 1942-1945. Allen was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on June
26, 2001. We are honored by Allen's service to our country and his presence in
our booth at Thunder in the Rockies!
(pictured left to right, Jerry Hedke, Mike Prunsky, Virginia June, Bill
Thompson, Allen Dale June and Tony Abbott.
For more info on the Navajo Code Talkers, visit:
http://bingaman.senate.gov/features/codetalkers/ceremony.cfm
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/07/20010726-5.html
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August 17, 2008 (members) - Please note that several calendar events have been added to the calendar. If any members would like a "ALRCOD4" mail address, please let Rick Carver know by sending a mail note to rick@alrcod3.com please specify the name or nickname you'd like in front of xxxx@alrcod4.com email address. These addresses are free to our membership. We have added a "documents" link to the home page and will begin posting informational documents in this area as we move forward
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July 16-20 2008 - (general info) Thanks to all of our members and fellow riders for making the Dignity Memorial Traveling Vietnam Wall escort ride a great success! On Wednesday we had over 250 riders rumble from Limon to Boulder giving a great show of support for our fallen heroes. There were plenty of folks from the opening to the closing ceremony which included a number of dignitary speakers, flag presentations to families of our fallen heroes, a very touching Native American Indian ceremony and much more