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As we approach 4th of July, we should remember that our country was founded by men and women who risked everything for freedom. Although we take it for granted nowadays, there have been times in our American history where our freedoms and way of life have been threatened. During each of these crises, heroes have stepped up to defend America. On June 28th, the Vietnam Vets / Legacy Vets M/C went to the Atlanta VA hospital nursing home also known as the Eagle's Nest to visit with some America's forgotten heroes.
VNV LVMC The Vietnam Vets and Legacy Vets M/C, was founded in the early 80's by returning vets who were determined to form a motorcycle club dedicated to ensuring that Vets, POWs and MIAs would not be forgotten by the American people nor our Gov't. Each year the club holds events which directly benefit Vets. In early June, the club held a poker run in Hiram to raise money to donate to the recreational therapy dept. of the VA nursing home. Unfortunatly my photo editing software deleted all of the poker run pictures but this story is about the Vets not the poker run. We arrived at the Eagle's Nest and was mere by Chauncy Rozier who works as a recreational therapist with the residents. Chauncy took us on a tour of the home and we visited each room, distributing care packages donated by Chaplain Fred and Walmart. The first hero we met was Mr. George Yanka who was on Normandy beach on D-day. Mr. Yanka who is 92 yrs old and still very mentally alert doesn't have any surviving family.
George Yanka, D-day Veteran After spending time with Mr. Yanka, we visited with Ken Boglin who was a Navy CB during the Vietnam War.
Ken Boglin Navy CB, Vietnam Vet |
After speaking with Mr. Boglin and a few other patients, we went to the day room to see if the residents had sufficient recreational equipment. Thanks to donations by many various groups, the day room was pretty well stocked. We then went outside to take a few group pictures with some of the residents.
After spending some time with the residents, we presented Chauncy with a check. The check contained the proceeds from our poker run. I would like to take this time to thank the various groups which donated either cash or door prizes for this event. The donors were Atlanta HD, Earl Small's HD, Stone Mountain HD, Big Daddys Choppers, Bikers Gone Wild, Old Dude Vintage Motorcycle Parts, Mulligan's Food and Spirits, One Eye Willy's, Walmart, Chaplin Fred, Lucky Draw Tattoos, John Huckabee and the WindWalkers M/C.
Gambler VNV M/C and Chauncy The money raised is earmarked to be used for recreation for the Eagle's Nest residents. While the residents enjoyed our visit, I did get a sense of loneliness from therm. Many of them do not have any family and are very happy to have visitors. When I was young, my Great-Grand Mother lived in a nursing home and I was always a bit uncomfortable visiting due to her advanced Alzheimers. To be candid, I was a bit apprehesive about this trip based on my prior experiences. I found these American Heroes to be fascinating. Visiting these people was a learning experience for me. Their vast knowledge of history as well as personal insights on some of the historical American events was very educational. If you have some free time, I would suggest that you take a trip to the nursing home and acquaint yourself with these Vets.
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