nized rotors beating the air preceded
the arrival and landing of a United
States Army CH-47 Chinook Helicop-
ter. Watching this giant war bird land
and then being able to talk to the crew
and tour the insides of the craft was in-
credible. This was not to be the day’s
only aerial arrival.
The parking lot was filled with
vendors as usual and folks were shop-
ping briskly whether it was motorcycle
related goods on their mind or their fa-
vorite refreshment or snack. The
music of Here for Beer began around
10:30 and kept folks tapping their feet
through the morning. The kids were
entertained as always including face
painting and great “tattoos” from Chris
and his crew from Purgatory Tattoo.
Kids young and old could go inside the
bustling dealership and get up close in
personal with not only a burrowing
owl but also a golden eagle. The good
folks from the March of Dimes were
out in force registering riders for the upcoming Bik-
ers for Babies ride, and of course the Wide Open
Girls were on hand selling shirts and subscriptions,
and sharing smiles with everyone.
The sounds of rotors spinning in the sky got my
attention right at the noon hour so we made our
way back to the Riders Edge training lot just in time
for the arrival of our second guest from above. This
time we were greeted by the almost sinister lines
of the AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter. This
chopper looks like a weapon with a rotor and “bad
to the bone” does not even begin to describe it.
The afternoon brought on the big entertain-
ment and two great giveaways, one that was very
inspiring and holding true to the theme of the
weekend by paying tribute to heroes and one for
fun!
Around noon, the “Cars 4 Heroes”, a not-for-
profit organization that finds vehicles for needy
veterans, was on hand and with help from Gail’s
Harley-Davidson, was able to get a vehicle for a
local Veteran hero. This day, that hero was Major
William C. Watson (Retired), a local Missouri na-
tive and long time resident of both Peculiar and
Raymore. Major Watson’s story starts with World
War II where he served on the Korean peninsula
and after the war he stayed in Reserves. In 1950
he was called up for the Korean conflict. And in the
spring of 1951 he was taken prisoner by the Chi-
nese and turned over to the North Koreans, during
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