I received this email from Patricia Jones, and it’s basically a call for rememberance to our fellow Veteran riders. Though this was obviously written in behalf of American Veterans of War, the message echoes beyond borders and nationalities. It calls on all of us to do one simpe thing, remember.

Here is her introductory message followed by the main body of the letter.

Dear Editors,

Recently I was out at the local Veteran’s Hospital with my husband and I overheard a young man ask a VFW representative “What are those?” When I looked over my shoulder I was saddened to see he was inquiring about the veritable field of Red Poppies surrounding a nearly empty donation jar. So what does this have to do with riding? My husband is being fit for a special leg brace. What makes this brace unique is that it is not to allow him to walk, but to ride his specially adapted Buell Firebolt. Aside from being a Veteran, my husband is a rider, like many others. Please consider publishing the following open letter in your next edition to help keep our disabled Veterans on two wheels.

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, AMA, your other local or national riding group, and the local VFW post. Get the word out about Buddy Poppies. Strengthen your community while supporting Veterans and keep Riders riding.

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. She can be reached at louisamae@sc.stephens.edu