Oklahoma Together: Bikers Honor Veterans With Flag Raising

A group of bikers roared Sunday to an Oklahoma City nursing home to honor veterans by raising a flag for them.

It was a sea of polished chrome, red, white and blue as bikers with the group Flagpoles Honoring our Veterans rolled up to the Wildewood Skilled Nursing And Therapy home to plant a flagpole and flag to honor the veterans who live here.

“It brings a tear to me on one side and a giant smile in my heart for what we’re doing for these folks,” Flagpoles Honoring Our Veterans member Kevin Blake said. “Because, like you said, they’re not getting out. People aren’t getting out to see them, so let them know that they are thought of.”

 “It’s the least we could do to tell them, ‘Thank you,’” Flagpoles Honoring our Veterans member Ginger Blake said. “And not only the veterans but their spouses. The sacrifices they’ve made. The families. The sacrifices they’ve made.”

A few of the vets came out to watch the raising of the flagpole. For many, it’s the first real visit they’ve gotten since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“I can imagine that they’re elated that we’re here,” Ginger Blake said. “But to have somebody come up and fist bump them or say hi and just ask them a few questions about their personal lives, I think that puts a smile on their face. Gives them a little lift up, you know? I think they’ve been shown over the years that not a lot of people do care. And I think that’s a shame.”

It’s a labor of love and respect for those who sacrificed so much for freedom.

“They are not forgotten,” Kevin Blake said. “What they did 30 years ago, some of them 50 years ago, hasn’t been forgotten. We wouldn’t be here today doing what we do if they hadn’t had done what they did.”

Flagpoles Honoring Our Veterans relies on donations to buy the flags and poles. If you’d like to help, contact Kevin Blake at flagpolevets@gmail.com.