Members of 3rd District’s ALR donate motorcycle to U.S. Navy veteran.
During a visit to Sturgis, S.D., Department of Florida American Legion Rider Mitch Cooper saw the nonprofit Wheels 4 Warriors raffle off a motorcycle for a veteran. Cooper, a past director of American Legion Riders Chapter 107 in Live Oak, Fla., came back to his state and shared what he saw with fellow Legion Rider Butch Deihl, who thought it was a great idea.
Then, in Deihl’s words, “it just steamrolled from there,” and in early June, those two and other American Legion Riders from Florida’s 3rd District were able to make something similar happen at the local level. U.S. Navy veteran Billy Howard’s name was drawn and was the recipient of a Suzuki Intruder trike.
Deihl – a member of Cherry Lake American Legion Post and ALR Chapter 224 in Madison, where the Riders’ mantra “For the cause, not for the applause” originated – was able to get the motorcycle donated from a local widow of a veteran who was looking to get rid of the bike but had been unable to sell it.
“I called and told her what I wanted to do,” Deihl said. “Thirty minutes later she texted me and said, ‘Come pick it up. It’s yours. I want to donate it to you.’”
The motorcycle was in need of repairs, so Chapter 224 conducted a fundraiser cookout that raised around $800. Post 107 donated $400. And then the donations, in one form or another, continued.
Post 383 in Old Town donated $500. Gainesville Harley-Davidson donated all the gear, while Tallahassee Harley-Davidson donated the rider safety course. Two insurance agencies provided the funds to cover the cost of insurance, another business provided back tires, and a mechanic at Extreme Bikes Custom in Pinetta provided the labor for the repairs free of charge.
“It was crazy,” Deihl said. “Everybody kicked in.”
The 3rd District put out the word they wanted to donate the motorcycle to a veteran; 12 veterans sent in applications to receive it. All the applications were received to ensure each had an honorable discharge, and then the names were put into a drawing.
Howard, a member of Post 224 who almost lost his arm in 1979 while serving, was the recipient through the drawing and was presented with the Suzuki during a June 3 event at Ellie Ray’s RV Resort and Lounge, which provided the venue free of charge.
Deihl said Howard, “was just ecstatic. He was just about in tears. You could hear it in his voice over the telephone when I called and told him. (And at the event), everyone was in tears. Billy was in tears. It was ridiculous.
“It just fills your heart with joy. I’ve felt a lot of things in my life, but not like that. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just total joy.”
Deihl said the motorcycle giveaway was an opportunity “to give back. These veterans put their lives on the line for us and our country. So, if you can pay them back in any little kind of way, why not?”
- Riders