By Lulu

I have had the pleasure of getting to know some really good men that call themselves the Green Swamp Chapter of the Nam Knights of America, MC. We all have busy lives, and most, as we age, retire…play golf, sit on a couch with a remote, travel and visit family when we feel like it. These guys spend their free time working towards a cause! I see them staffing the bar at Gator H-D in Leesburg to raise funds, riding on charity events, particularly for veterans and putting on Christmas in the Swamp, a huge toy drive for needy children. God bless these men and their wives.

This Bike Week this band of brothers donated a trike to Specialist E4 Shawn Burke who had lost a leg in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His love for riding had not dulled. He and his father rode to the 100th Anniversary in Milwaukee back in 2003 and “The Swamp” wanted Shawn back on the highway! They flew him down to Florida and presented him with the trike with a huge event and you can tell by the smile on his face he was truly honored. All these men are heroes to be honored for their service. Just giving up time away from your family to be deployed to faraway places is a sacrifice. Sacrificing limbs, lives and the trauma of war is a huge price for our freedom!

Having been five times to D.C. for Rolling Thunder (Ride to the Wall), I have watched Vietnam Vets work hard to not allow these young vets to be treated the way they were when they returned from war. They hold each other up with pride and spend their retirement helping out others. If you get a chance to buy a drink from them at Gator or to visit The Swamp for one of their events, please do. These guys are really good men I am proud to know!

A special thank you to Reverend Al Paquette for covering this event for me since Bike Week in Daytona kept me from joining their event. And a special note Nam Knights MC welcomes all veterans from all branches of the military!