Comments on: West Coast Thunder Undone (updated)

By: Buddy

Buddy — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:26:10 +0000

Just be there for our Veterans past present and future stop all the complaining and go to the cemetery then if you wish go to the casino but stop blaming each other your sounding like the very politicians that we all despise

By: admin

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:27:02 +0000

The final story is in the article “West Coast Thunder – Your Voices Heard”. Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson will escort those of us (that includes me) that wish to go to the cemetery at 9:11 AM as in the prior years. Those that wish to go to the casino will be escorted some 45 minutes later. Skip Fordyce has invited those of us that go to the cemetery to pay our respects to then proceed to the casino for the activities. There will be no escort from the cemetery to the casino.

By: John

John — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:48:35 +0000

So now it is May and it appears that no one has taken any time to update the true information about the ride. We are going to the cemetary…what about it ADMIN??

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:32:25 +0000

Admin., for your information, Riverside National Cemetery Staff has not been involved in past Memorial Day Ceremonies at RNC except for the last 2 years. The Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee planned and paid for all the past Memorial Day Ceremonies. The staff at RNC kicked the Support Committee out of the Memorial Day Cermony 2 years ago, deciding to do the ceremony themselves. So now it looks like the Staff at RNC is kicking the m/c Riders out too. Who will be next the Veterans?

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:12:37 +0000

The following comment is from the website of West Coast Thunder. (http://www.westcoastthunder.com/ride_info.html)

“For riders that wish to go the Riverside National Cemetery, there will be an escorted, closed parade route exactly the same as year’s past. This parade will leave at 9:11 am.”

The above comment is perfectly understandable to me.

Beyond the Memorial Day Ceremonies the current administration at Riverside National Cemetery has taken the position to shove a group of patriots out the back gate… hence the courting of other outside groups.
Our CRIME… when the director said that “No one is allowed to put an american flag on any graves of Veterans” and followed it up in writing… the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee stood up and said “just watch us.” The bureaucrats didn’t like the fact that we stood for the American flag and the honor of our Veterans.
President Bush was asked in writing “what do we tell the widow of a young soldier who gave their life in Iraq, defending our Freedom, why she can’t put an American flag on the grave of her husband”?

I guess we got the bureaucrats attention over the flag, their continual complaints about traffic, the sounds of the bikes and parking of the 6000+ motorcycles … along with the bureaucrats treatment of widows (Karen Black) and loved ones of our ex Prisoners of War…. that is our bitch.

Fact of life: if you want to ride to Riverside National Cemetery on Memorial Day then do it… if you want to ride to the Casino or go to a Memorial Day Sale… the Freedom is yours… “PAID FOR BY A VET”….

The unconditional gift of proceeds from over 10 years of West Coast Thunder & Skip Fordyce built the National POW/MIA Memorial and put over $170,000 into a fund to build the Vietnam Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery.

The Skip Fordyce family and West Coast Thunder family has done more (AND longer) to honor our Veterans and bring attention to the Memorial Day Ceremonies than anyone commenting here including the RNC Public Relations man Jim Reuster.

I am riding with West Coast Thunder to Riverside National Cemetery on Memorial Day May 31, 2010.

Paul Adkins, Proud Veteran and Proud Volunteer, Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee