| Author | Message | ||
     Diablobrian |
The following is an open letter written by my wife that is going out to many publications and organizations nation wide in hopes of educating people about the true meaning of Memorial Day. For more information, or if you initiate action based on this please PM me. I will relay the info to my wife and she will pass it on to others from there. Ask any Rider the question and you might be greeted by a cacophony of answers, or a dumbfounded stare. Why do you Ride? It might be the toughest question we’ve ever faced, but only because the answer is so primal that we know it in the same way we feel our own heartbeats. How do you explain anything as sacred as faith, as important as honor, or as fundamental as duty? Ask a Veteran. Chances are if you’re not one yourself, the man or the woman on the bike beside you at the next ride has either served in the armed forces, or has an immediate family member who is a Veteran. There have always been strong ties between Riders and the men and women who have risked and sacrificed their lives in times of war and peace. Perhaps it started in World War I with the adaptation of cycles for use by troops. Even as Harley Davidson was fine tuning it’s first V-Twin there was a side car in Europe whisking an injured soldier to a clapboard shack. A structure held together on a prayer, serving as a field hospital in the Danish countryside. This is where John McCrae wrote the poem - In Flanders Fields. Our population of early Riders and Veterans from the era of the first and second world wars and the golden age of motorcycles is rapidly aging. The majority of Americans are too young to remember either, outside of a distant history lesson, or a story told by someone’s Papa around the campfire after a long ride. Most are left floundering for some sort of explanation of the obscure literary reference to a poem written in Europe by a Canadian author. As a community of men and women who understand the very nature of kinship, as Riders, I challenge you to help change this before it is too late, and to help yourselves in the process. On this long Memorial Day weekend, 2006, think about the Veterans who served for you, or with you and how you can help spread the word about the Veterans of Foreign Wars Buddy Poppy Program. The Buddy Poppy program began in 1920 and was officially registered by the VFW with the U.S. Patent Office in 1924. For over 80 years disabled Veterans in institutions across the nation have been assembling and selling these flowers of remembrance in order to carry a message and a torch we can all hold close to our hearts. “Honor the Dead by Helping the Living.” Armed with a full calendar year, a motivated heart, and a pre-existing international network of Riders, Veterans, and the Supporters who love them, take the time to change the course of history. Help to organize a national ride in support of the VFW Buddy Poppy program for 2007. Contact your friends, your families, your BRAG chapter, your HOG chapter, the AMA, and the local VFW post. Get the word out about Buddy Poppies, and strengthen your community while supporting Veterans. This call to action is written by Patricia Jones, a Grand Daughter, Daughter, Niece, Cousin, Wife, and Daughter in Law of Veterans as well as an avid Rider. http://www.vfw.org/ In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. Written by - Colonel John McCrae in 1915 BDWD......... Biker Dads With Daughters est.2006 defending our sweet little girls from those bad bad boys. You're not one of THEM are you? | ||
| Bomber |
Brian Stirring words, certainly -- give your wife a squeeze and say thanks, please It is better to be shot from a gun than squeezed from a tube -- HSThompson | ||
| Brineusaf |
Very moving. Kyle Brine United States Air Force | ||
| Tramp |
the tie between motorcycles and vets blossomed after WWII, when returning vets found their jobs and girls were scapped up by deferment flatfeet, and they didn't have enough cashish for cars, but there were plentiful flatties and knucks laying around, so they began riding around looking for work, which typically ended up in finding beer, and other screwed vets. the scenario's old as history itself, it was reportedly really bad in post wwI germany, they just lacked the open roads and the motorcycles with which to blow off steam. speaking of germany, the nazi regalia adopted by many early american motorcyclists wereTROPHIES from the war, NOT nazi sympathy..... | ||
| Diablobrian |
Thanks Tramp. My wife was trying to put a smiley face on the tie rather than bring up the bad. She is actually interested in writing an article on the history of the ties between veterans and bikers. It seems that there is a large percentage of veterans riding bikes even today. Thanks for your input guys it is appreciated. I do relay all of this back to her. She is a far better wordsmith than I am, and has a gift for eloquent writing. I, on the other hand, am a more technical, fact oriented motorhead. Flowery prose aint my thing. BDWD......... Biker Dads With Daughters est.2006 defending our sweet little girls from those bad bad boys. You're not one of THEM are you? | ||
| Cochise |
Didn't also quite a few of them fighter pilots and wore items that were like what they wore in the planes that they flew. Now, I don't think I should be quoted on this, because I got my info above from watching History Channel and reading motorcycle history books. www.americanthunderbike.org | ||
| Diablobrian |
I also believe the Hell's Angels were originally a group of pilots that used their squadron's nickname for their club? BDWD......... Biker Dads With Daughters est.2006 defending our sweet little girls from those bad bad boys. You're not one of THEM are you? | ||
| Tramp |
The Angels drew their name from a small squadron at Andrews AFB, from whence the original members (the MC, not the airmen) hailed. The original members were primarily enlisted infantrymen, etc. There were a few pilots hanging around, and they brought the concept of wearing wings on uniforms into the fold. he original HA emblem (known as the "bumblebee") was a small, helmeted skull with two small wings and a grin, derived from a USAF squadron patch. the later ('66-present) emblem was derived even more directly from a military patch, by an art student/member in Frisco. To this day, the company which manufactures the standard uniform 'cutoffs' for the club, is based in "Berdoo", near the site of Andrews, and the company takes pride in manufacturing the vests from regulation flight-jacket goatskin, with regulation later-issue flight-jacket nylon lining. THAT underscores one very deep-rooted legacy of military kinship with motorcycling.... Apologies for any hijackedness.... interstingly, the greater percentage, BY FAR, of motorcylcists I meet are vets. that includes those I've met on this board.... (Message edited by tramp on May 31, 2006) | ||
| Jackbequick |
I think I've heard that there was some memory of or tie in to the 1930 movie Hell's Angels} in the selection of that name. And it always looked to me like there was not a great concern for punctuation amongst the original founders because they left the apostrophe out. :>  Jack | ||
| Tramp |
yep- the Dietrich movie put name's appeal there, and the "punctuation" was intentional...(see the FAQS at hamcdc.com.) ....such is the case with the "pagan's MC", as well. the intent is that one norse god is the overlord of their own group. interestingly, the "pagan's MC" began as a triumph enthusiast's club in the midatlantic; they wore white denim jackets and the club was started by a chemist with a PhD. strange, right? | ||
| Bomber |
there has been a little research on the link between returning vets and motorcycling (as well as other "high-risk" activities) -- some stuff find a link between returning combat vets wishing to reclaim the adrenaline buzz found in thier military service, as well as reveling in their undetrucability (hey, I got through the Marne/Iwo/Frozen Chosen/Au Shaw/Kutwait/Bagdad, nuthin can tough me!) (with their non-combat experienced brothers doing the same to "blend in") twenty years ago, I woulda labelled such screeds as the mumbling of secluded academic monks with no connection to the real world -- no, I ain't so sure other studies (one reported in Motorcyclist, if memory serves) report a similar slight chemical anomoly found in "high-risk activity participants" (sky divers, race drives, motorcyclists, mountain climbers) interesting stuff, for certain -- It is better to be shot from a gun than squeezed from a tube -- HSThompson | ||
| Road_thing |
That "slight chemical anomaly" is probably residuum from the 60's in my case... rt |
