Sean C. Morgan
By the time veteran Jim Allyn returns to Sweet Home after several neck surgeries, the Northwest Veterans Motorcycle Club will have finished a ramp so Allyn can get into his home.
Allyn is a member of the 3 percent, represented by a patch worn by club member Ted Lindsey. The patch represents the approximately 3 percent of the population who have fought during wars since World War II.
Allyn has undergone surgery to remove spurs in his neck, and he will be in a wheelchair when he comes home, probably this week, said Cathy Lindsay of the Veterans Club.
She said he is doing all right following the surgery.
Duane Davis of the Veterans of Foreign Wars contacted the NVMC, which opened a new chapter in Sweet Home this year, for assistance.
The club has four chapters, said Lindsey of Lebanon, who is a retired sales representative.
The Northwest Veterans Motorcycle Club members are military veterans who share a common devotion for riding motorcycles and helping other military veterans through club-sponsored charitable events, according to the organization’s website. The other chapters include Salem, Evergreen in the Portland-Vancouver area and LaGrande.
“This chapter started back in the first of January,” Lindsay said. “I started to look for a place and found this.”
“This” was the former Body Mine Tattoo shop, located next to the old Frontier Lounge in the 1200 block of Main Street.
“Our goal is to reach out to veterans who can’t leave home,” Lindsey said. Outside of the VFW club, there isn’t much help for veterans in the area. Operation Homefront in Albany closed, and all that’s left is its headquarters in Portland.
The club is made up exclusively of veterans from all branches of service from the Vietnam War to present. It is devoted to serving and honoring veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Services.
Lindsey served in the Marine Corps from 1971 to 1976, and served two tours in Vietnam, he said. The biggest events in which he was involved were the evacuation of the Cambodian Embassy and Operation Minesweep.
“Vets only understand vets,” he said. “If some of us are having an issue, we have our brothers we can call up. We’re there for each other – same thing with the vets who are on the outside.”
Many of them are shut in and cannot get out of their homes, Lindsey said. “And people forget about them.”
His club does many fund-raising events and poker runs on their behalf, he said. The proceeds are all used to pay for services and programs on behalf of these veterans.
The club also pools resources to put together care packages for the Veterans Home in The Dalles, he said. Many of the veterans there do not have any family.
Motorcycle clubs are often negatively profiled, Lindsey said, and he wanted to stress that his club’s purpose is helping veterans.
To that end, the Sweet Home Chapter of the Northwest Veterans MC is hosting its first poker run on Saturday, May 18.
The event starts at the Vets Club and ends at the NVMC clubhouse. The first bike out will leave at 10 a.m. Last bike out is at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $15 per hand and $5 for each additional hand.
The run is a relaxing 60-mile ride. The event includes raffle prizes, and food is $5 per plate.
All riders are welcome, and all proceeds will be donated to local veterans services.