Combat Warriors offer ride to honor veterans

LACONIA — The POW/MIA motorcycle ride that usually goes from Lowe’s in Gilford to Hesky Park in Meredith was canceled for this year’s Laconia Motorcycle Week, and that didn’t sit well with the Combat Warriors Motorcycle Club.

“It left an empty feeling in the veterans,” said Ron Egalka, the sergeant-at-arms for the Big Lake Crew chapter of the Combat Warriors MC. So, he said, his club will be joining the original Combat Warriors chapter on Thursday, Aug. 27, to lead a ride to honor veterans and service members who were taken prisoner or went missing in action.

The ride will leave from the Laconia VFW Post 1670, located at 143 Court Street, and will go to the NH Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen to pay respects to those interred there. There’s no fee to participate. Lineup will begin at 4:30 p.m., and the ride will begin at 5:30 p.m.

“We are trying to keep up the veterans’ position by having this ride and going to Boscawen,” Egalka said.

Combat Warriors will be staffing the hospitality table at the Laconia Harley-Davidson dealership in Meredith during every day of Motorcycle Week. They will be offering bottles of water, selling T-shirts and sweatshirts, as well as other apparel, and lending their local knowledge to suggest riding routes for visitors. They will also be raffling off ammunition, both 5.56mm and 9mm rounds.

“All the proceeds from the raffle, the sale of the T-shirts and sweatshirts, goes to aiding veterans in need,” Egalka said.

On Sept. 13, a couple of weeks after Motorcycle Week concludes, the Big Lake Crew chapter will hold another ride. This ride will benefit Camp Resilience, which offers retreats and counseling for military service members who are re-integrating into civilian life.

“We will be leading that ride, and that recognizes that the men and women who have served our country oftentimes come back needing some help to recover and maintain their mental and physical health, we feel strongly in helping them by raising money for Camp Resilience.”