EVENTS: Harley Shop-Hoppin’ Patriots Tour Salutes Veterans

Kick-started on Memorial Day and finishing in the fall, 14,500-mile ride will visit Harley stores in 48 states while raising funds for wounded vets.

In a time when military veterans are not always treated with the respect that they deserve it is heartwarming to see the men and women who served in the U.S. armed forces treated properly. The Nation of Patriots is doing something to change that with the Patriots Tour, which kicked off on June 20 from Montana’s Billings Beartooth Pass Harley-Davidson and is set to finish on September 9 at Wisconsin’s Madison Harley-Davidson.

Every year the group organizes this ride in an effort to honor all of America’s Armed Forces veterans — past, present and fallen. The tour, which also raises funds for local veterans, lasts for 100 days, makes stops in all 48 continental states, and covers over 14,5000 miles. Several veterans ride their Harleys behind a flag bearer who carries the flag from one stop to the next before transferring it to another veteran until the tour concludes in Wisconsin, where several thousand Americans will gather to honor America’s military members.

Since starting the tour on Memorial Day, the veterans have not been received well at various stops. “When I landed in Washington, D.C., people were cussing, swearing at us, spitting on us,” says Vietnam veteran Francis Hebret to Valley Live News.

‘When I landed in Washington, D.C., people were
cussing, swearing at us, spitting on us.’

Fortunately, the Patriots Tour stop in Fargo, ND, brought crowds that truly appreciated the flag bearers. “When I landed in Fargo it wasn’t that way because there’s been a lot of people from this area that didn’t make it back from Vietnam,” adds Hebert. “We believe in our soldiers out there; signing their lives away on a blank check is basically what it is. There’s no guarantee that they’re coming back…walking anyway.”

You can keep up with the tour here.