American Legion Riders

Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps funeral service in Dubois, Wyoming. The unfortunate death of Chance Phelps was immortalized in the movie Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon. Orginal photo by Tim Bernard
We are NOT a M/C! We don't practice M/C rules and regulations. We are an association, a group of American Legion members that ride for a cause.
Chartered in January 2003, ALR Chapter 295 began to assist wounded and sick military members with personal care needs while they are undergoing rehabilitation at the area’s military hospitals.

To support our efforts we conducted several raffles, the 1st being a 1974 Corvette with a 454 engine and matching numbers, the 2nd raffle was a Harley-Davison 883 with customized with a desert motif to include a hand greande tail light. Our last raffle was a disappointment, as we raffled Harley-Davison Road King Police Edition.
 
The came the POW/MIA Missing Man Run, an event that has put ALR 295 in the spotlight.
 
The 2nd Annual POW/MIA Missing Man Run is already being planned and will honor the crew of Spectre 17. Spectre 17 was a C-130 gunship lost over Laos in 1972, there have been questions on the identification of remains, and that is the purpose of the ride, to ensure we never forget and demand a full accounting and proper identification of those missing in action.
The Inaugural POW/MIA Missing Man Run
This year, 2012, marked a milestone in the Chapters history. We conducted the Inaugural POW/MIA Missing Man Run to Honor and Remember Col Robert A Govan and Col David R Williams raised over $4500 to support Operation Provide Comfort a wounded warrior support program.
 
The riders were honored to have family members of Col Govan join us at Battley Harley-Davidson for the start of the ride. The mission of the ride is to bring awareness to those still missing in action, each year we will bring another serviceman’s story to the public’s attention. Col’s Govan and Williams were shot down on 1 April 1967 over Laos. In 2002, the laboratory in Hawaii identified them. When both families protested the findings, a review board considered the evidence. The identification was subsequently rescinded in 2003. This was the 1st time that a rescinded identification resulted in names being returned to the MIA list.

 

Over 30 riders join ALR Chapter 295 in a pledge supported 200 mile ride from Gaithersburg to DELMARVA Bike week in Salisbury Maryland. With law enforcement support along for the entire ride and beautiful weather, no could have asked for a better day! Only one rider did not complete the ride, due to a mechanical failure.

 

The participants pledged $4500 and turned in $4540! Your tax deductible donations are still welcome. Proceeds from the Inaugural ride will help American Legion, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Post 295 provide holiday meals for our wounded warriors, their families and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but will also assist us in reach families of servicemen and woman, who may be dealing of PTSD.

 

 

Here are a few of the photos from the ride. Those taken on the road were taken with a GoPro camera mounted to the bike.
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ROLLING THUNDER 2012

By Craig Roberts - May 29, 2012

American Legion National Public Relations & AL Post 295 Member


As a bystander at the 25th annual Rolling Thunder “Run to the Wall,” it’s easy to describe the event in purely objective terms. But such journalistic detachment would be difficult to maintain by an old veteran riding in the ever-growing Rolling Thunder pilgrimage. The tale would be better and more accurately told in the recounting of personal experiences and impressions, knowing that the feelings they would evoke were common among the participants. 


The sweltering 90-degree weather hovered over the riders as they congregated in the Pentagon parking lot Sunday morning in preparation for the “Run to the Wall.” While the weather was difficult to withstand, experienced riders assured perspiring newcomers that the “stand to,” no matter how uncomfortable, was worth the inconvenience once wheels were rolling. 


Read the rest...
ALR PHOTO JOURNAL
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ALR Raffle Bikes~Car for OPC
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