Years of Service, Hardship Led Wisconsin Vet to New Harley
Marine Corps veteran gifted Harley with help of Wisconsin’s Hogs for Heroes.
Harleys and the military share a bond that runs through the ages. From the front lines to the many veteran-based MCs serving our communities, there’s always a Harley around to serve the country one way or another.
One of those ways is to provide therapy for those experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder from their time in combat. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, newspaper FDL Reporter has the story of one such individual, veteran Marine Rob Thiede, who was given the gift of a Harley to help continue his path to a better life.
“All my life I have worked for everything,” said Thiede. “When I give to others, I ask nothing in return. So, to be presented with something like this, I don’t know how to deal with it. It’s hard to take this all in.”
Thiede joined the Marine Corps at the age of 16 via its early entry program, looking for the family he had long-sought when his birth family failed him. Four tours of duty in Iraq later, he returned to civilian life permanently, though not without the trauma of war haunting his life.
Alcoholism and homelessness followed, only for Thiede to find a light at the end of his dark tunnel: his future wife, Char. With her help, the 35-year-old veteran emerged with a new job as a corrections officer, a new home with his wife, and a beat-up Honda motorcycle as old as he was.
Then local non-profit Hogs For Heroes stepped in to give Thiede the ride he deserved. At Open Road Harley-Davidson in Fond du Lac, the group, along with the local chapter of the Purple Heart Riders, presented the Marine with a 2017 Road Glide Special, the eight bike overall given by Hogs For Heroes.
“Rob is a very proud man,” said Hogs For Heroes co-founder Kevin Thompson, “and like so many veterans, he is stoic, but he really went through a lot.”
‘All my life I have worked for everything. When I give to others, I ask nothing in return. So, to be presented with something like this, I don’t know how to deal with it. It’s hard to take this all in.’
Thiede told Green Bay, Wisconsin FOX affiliate WLUK-TV that he plans to pay the generosity bestowed upon him forward, with the idea that “everything’s possible if you put your mind to it.”
“To those who say this is an expensive toy I want to enlighten their eyes to the other side of things,” Thiede told WLUK. “This isn’t a toy for me, this is a tool. It’s a tool to kind of release from my personal demons that I have from war.”
Thompson adds that “activities like riding motorcycles is great therapy.” After all, there’s nothing like the open road and the throaty growl of a Harley to cast those demons back into the shadows, one mile at a time.
Photos: FDL Reporter
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