March 24, 2025 • 42 mins
Leather jackets, rumbling engines, and hearts dedicated to service—the Perry A. Johns American Legion Post 6 Legion Riders embody the continuing mission of veterans helping veterans long after their military service ends. From the moment Tina Hurst and her husband encountered a group of Legion Riders escorting a fallen veteran in 2006, they were drawn into a brotherhood that would become the first official Legion Riders chapter in Mississippi.
The Legion Riders aren't just motorcycle enthusiasts who happen to be veterans—they're a structured organization with clear requirements and a focused mission. Members must belong to the American Legion family and own and operate their own motorcycles with proper insurance and registration. Their organized rides, led by designated road captains, follow strict safety protocols that have resulted in an impressive safety record despite challenging conditions. As one member noted, "It's not the motorcycle that's dangerous, it's the automobiles you have to look out for."
What truly distinguishes the Post 6 Riders is their commitment to supporting fellow veterans. Their current focus centers on Ronnie's Retreat, a facility being developed for homeless veterans in nearby Tishomingo County. On April 19th, they'll hold a fundraising ride to raise $2,000 for a matching grant to bring power to the retreat—a critical step in making the facility operational for veterans in need. These efforts mirror their participation in national initiatives like the Legacy Run, which supports the Veterans and Children's Foundation.
Beyond their charitable work, these Riders form the backbone of their local Legion post. "The riders at Post 6 are the leadership in this post," Tina explains. "They hold leadership positions in every branch of this family and they are the core support for everything that happens here." This integration ensures their motorcycle rides translate directly into meaningful service for veterans.
Want to support or join this remarkable group? The Post 6 Legion Riders meet on the second Thursday of each month at 511 South Tate Street in Corinth, Mississippi. Even if you don't ride, you can participate in their events or support their causes. After all, as these veterans have shown, service doesn't end when the uniform comes off—sometimes it just finds a new road.
Don't forget to subscribe and share with your friends and family. Drop us a line today at JDAllhands@outlook.com. If you'd like to become a sponsor of our show or advertise with us please send an email to jdallhands@outlook.com or call us at 662-902-6658.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jerry Allhands (00:00):
This is the Veterans Sound Off Podcast.
I'm your host, jerry Allhands,a veteran of the US Air Force
and US Army.
I'm also a past Department ofMississippi commander of the
American Legion.
On each episode we will hearfrom the members of the American
Legion family and from othergroups that continue to support
(00:20):
veterans and their families.
This week we visit with thePerry A Johns American Legion
Post 6 Legion Riders and learnhow the Post 6 Riders became
official and what they haveplanned for 2025.
I'm in northwest Mississippithis morning talking with the
Legion Riders of Post 6.
And every time I have said I'mnot even going to say the name
(00:41):
of the city because every time Ido it I do it wrong.
Y'all.
Somebody say the name of thecity, because every time I do it
, I do it wrong.
Y'all.
Somebody say the name of thecity.
Tina Hurst (00:46):
How about I spell it , to teach you how to say it?
Jerry Allhands (00:48):
Oh see, there you go.
She's going to spell it.
All right, spell it.
Tina Hurs (00:56):
C-A-H-H-H-H-H-R-N-T-H .
Jerry Allhands (01:00):
Corinth.
Tina Hurst (01:01):
Corinth.
Jerry Allhands (01:02):
See Corinth Mississippi.
There you go.
I'm going to ask somebody, ifyou would, who would like to
open us with prayer this morning.
Tina Hurst (01:12):
I think that we would ask that our chapter
chaplain do that if that isagreeable to you.
Jerry Allhands (01:18):
Who's your chapter chaplain?
Tina Hurst (01:19):
Terry Phillips.
Jerry Allhands (01:21):
Is Terry Phillips in the room?
Tina Hurst (01:22):
Terry Phillips is in the room.
Terry Phillips (01:23):
All right if you'll bow your heads.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you, lord, for this day.
Thank you, lord, for all theblessings you've given us.
Thank you, lord, for us safetravels here and back home.
Pray, lord, that everything wedo we do in your name.
In Jesus Christ's name we pray,amen.
Jerry Allhands (01:40):
Amen, and this morning we're going to start
with introductions.
If you would, starting from myleft going to my right, If you
would please introduce yourselfand give your title here with
the Legion Riders.
Terry Phillips (01:48):
I'm Terry Phillips and I'm the Riders
Chaplain and one of the RoadCaptain.
Tina Hurst (01:56):
Tina Hurst.
I am the Chapter 6 RidersDirector and Road Captain.
Mike Shipman (02:01):
Mike Shipman, post 6, riders road captain.
Jim Horton (02:06):
Jim Horton post six assistant director.
Jerry Allhands (02:09):
And starting with Tina.
Tina, what makes you eligibleto be in the Legion Riders?
Tina Hurst (02:15):
I am a member of the auxiliary and I own, operate
and insure my own motorcycle.
That's pretty much it.
That's pretty much it.
Jerry Allhands (02:24):
That's pretty much it.
Tina Hurst (02:25):
That's it.
You just have to be a member ofthe Legion family, which I'm a
member of, the auxiliary.
That could be the sons or theLegion and own or operate a
motorcycle.
Jerry Allhands (02:39):
Own and operate sorry.
Own and operate.
Own and operate.
And you remember the AmericanLegion Auxiliary.
Tina Hurst (02:46):
Mm-hmm, all right.
Jerry Allhands (02:47):
And how did you join the auxiliary?
What makes you eligible for theauxiliary?
Tina Hurst (02:50):
My son was Gulf War Navy and my husband was in the
Navy during the Panama conflict.
Jerry Allhands (02:58):
How long have you been in the Riders?
Tina Hurst (03:00):
Since 2007.
In 2006, the Legion Riders wereformed in Mississippi through
the DEC approved all that, so webecame official in 2006.
We I say we, mike and I boughtour first motorcycle in 2006.
We were out riding and stoppedat a little old hole-in-the-wall
restaurant called the Hitchin'Post at Kossuth and stopped at a
(03:21):
little old hole-in-the-wallrestaurant called the Hitchin'
Post at Kasuth.
There were motorcycles in theparking lot and we went in to
eat lunch and inside was a groupof Legion Riders.
They were on their way toescort a veteran who'd been
killed in action and asked us tocome with them.
From that day to this I've beena Legion rider.
Jerry Allhands (03:46):
And you said Kasu Kasuth.
What is that?
Where is that?
Tina Hurst (03:50):
That is about 10 miles west of Corinth.
That's where a lot of us wentto high school.
There's nothing there except agas station, a little store and
a high school.
Jerry Allhands (04:03):
That's a lot Kasuth, kasuth, kasuth.
Mike Shipman (04:08):
No K-O-S-S-U-T-H.
Jerry Allhands (04:09):
I can't even say that one Kasuth, kasuth, kasuth
Not.
Tina Hurst (04:14):
Kasuth, no Kasuth.
Jerry Allhands (04:17):
Perfect, Mike.
What makes you eligible to be arider?
Mike Shipman (04:29):
Well, I'm a veteran and I've been in the
Legion for over 30 years andbeing some friends, along with
Tina and most people in thisroom, by being in the Legion,
because I grew up in the Legion.
My father was a World War IIveteran.
He was commander here for manyyears and we kind of seen.
You know, what else could we doto help benefit the Legion, to
(04:50):
help build the membership,because you know, membership is
how we raise money to donate tothe different organizations.
And so once I come back home, Iwas stationed at Fort Seal.
I served during the Panamaconflict, stationed at Panama
for a while.
(05:10):
Notice, a lot of us like ridingmotorcycles, so Tina's help and
a few others, best I canremember was the first chapter
in the state.
We were and it's really been abig access.
People get in.
I'm a veteran but I like toride motorcycles.
I said, hey, you'll fit rightin, and so we started the legion
(05:32):
riders.
Tina keeps us busy.
Uh, my car.
We got a lot of mics in thischapter seems like we do, but uh
, you know, we want to have agood time but there's a lot of
work put into it and certainones, especially the ones in
this room, they put in a lot ofpersonal time to make this a
success.
And by being a veteran andliking to ride motorcycles and
(05:57):
armed and discharged, you know,out of the military, met all the
requirements.
It's something I really enjoy.
I've rode motorcycles all mylife and been a veteran since
1978, so I just I really enjoythis being part of the Legion.
Now.
Jerry Allhands (06:16):
If I can ask, which branch of the service were
you in?
Mike Shipman (06:18):
In the Army.
What did you do in the Army?
I was a field artillery when Iwent through boot camp.
But when I went to Panama, Iwas a field artillery when I
went through boot camp.
When I went to Panama, I was incombat engineers.
Jerry Allhands (06:28):
And you said you were stationed in Panama.
Mike Shipman (06:30):
Well, I served time before they had the
invasion of Panama.
We built roads and an airstripdown there in the jungle.
Jerry Allhands (06:36):
What size motorcycle do you ride?
What do you have?
I have a.
Mike Shipman (06:39):
Harley Davidson Road Glide, got all the bags on
it.
I got a little trailer.
I pull behind it.
Care all my stuff if I have toTravel all over?
A lot of trips are going duringthe summer, going 5,000,
6,000-mile trips on it.
Jerry Allhands (06:56):
Whoa yeah, that'll wear you out in a hurry.
Mike Shipman (06:57):
But now the rides, usually with the Legion family.
We try to ride on the weekend.
Some we may ride 200 or 300miles that day.
We have some big rides to thecoast planned already.
We talked about our lastmeeting.
We ride as a group.
We have rules we have to follow.
We follow all the laws of thestate.
(07:17):
The road captains have a bigresponsibility.
It's very well organized.
It ain't just a bunch going outacting crazy.
We don't tolerate that at all.
Jerry Allhands (07:29):
So there's no Sons of Anarchy on this ride.
No, no, yeah.
I say that because so manytimes people ask me oh, you're a
motorcycle gang, you're amotorcycle group, and we clarify
that real quick.
Mike Shipman (07:40):
But now we do have respect for all the clubs and
riders.
We'll treat them with respectthat they'll let us.
You know, we don't try to saywe're better than nobody else,
but we have a mission.
We actually have a mission, youknow, to help support the
different organizations that wedonate to.
Jerry Allhands (07:58):
Jim, what makes you eligible to be in the
American Legion of Riders?
You're going to have to moveforward to the microphone.
Jim Horton (08:10):
Yeah well, I'm a US Navy veteran.
My father was also a World WarII veteran, so that makes me a
double dual membership, you know, as a regular legionnaire as
well as a son.
Jerry Allhands (08:19):
What did you do in the Navy?
Jim Horton (08:21):
I was an aviation ordnanceman.
Jerry Allhands (08:23):
Yeah, for those of us who weren't privileged
enough to be in the navy.
What does that mean?
Jim Horton (08:28):
uh, I loaded munitions, ordinance and stuff
on.
I was in an f-14 outfit I wasstationed out in san diego.
I was on the uss kitty hawk and, uh, it was a f-14 fighter
squadron.
We loaded the missiles in the20-millimeter rounds and made
sure all of our ordnance,electronics and things make sure
(08:53):
they worked, you know, andthings that we would be on
launches and recoveries.
Jerry Allhands (09:02):
Okay, how long were you?
Terry Phillips (09:02):
in the.
Jim Horton (09:01):
Navy launches and recoveries.
Jerry Allhands (09:03):
Okay, how long were you in the Navy?
Jim Horton (09:11):
All total my active duty and my reserve time was
about 10 years.
Jerry Allhands (09:13):
My favorite question is would you go back
now?
Yes, yes.
Tina Hurst (09:19):
So, we're going to enlist you anyway.
I don't know if he'd go back ornot?
Yeah, no, I didn't say him, Isaid you.
But if he went, yeah, I'd go.
Jerry Allhands (09:30):
You'd go?
Okay, I'd go too, now, yeah,not last year, yeah.
Jim Horton (09:38):
No, I would do it in a heartbeat, yeah.
Jerry Allhands (09:41):
If I could, they won't let us in for some reason
.
Jim Horton (09:44):
No, it might be an age thing, I don't know.
Jerry Allhands (09:46):
It's arthritis.
Yeah, yeah yeah, Tina, let'stalk a little bit about some of
the activities you are coming upthis year the Legion Riders.
Tina Hurst (09:55):
One of the things that we have coming up.
We had a fairly livelydiscussion at our meeting this
week about veteran homelessness.
We have a facility that is inprocess called Ronnie's Retreat,
over in Tishomingo County.
It's about 10, 12 miles east ofus, and we, as a post-six
(10:20):
family Legion Riders, adoptedRonnie's Retreat and Hinderless
22 as our mission for this year.
So the first thing that we havecoming up is April the 19th.
We are having a ride to benefitRonnie's Retreat and Hinderless
22 to raise funds for amatching grant that we're going
(10:42):
to help them get power to theplace.
He's got four buildings outthere that he's going to house
homeless veterans.
He has doctors on staff readyto go, ready to volunteer their
time.
He's got counselors ready to go.
They just don't have power.
And that's the next step.
Jerry Allhands (11:00):
Where is this location?
Tina Hurst (11:01):
It is in Burnsville, Mississippi.
Jerry Allhands (11:03):
Is that North Mississippi, where we're at?
Tina Hurst (11:05):
Yes, it's about 15 miles east of Corinth.
Jerry Allhands (11:08):
You were saying that you're looking at raising
matching funds, right.
Tina Hurst (11:14):
So the Auxiliary, the ALA Foundation, has grants
for veteran service projects andthey will award up to $10,000,
but you have to match 20% ofthat money.
Okay, so that's the matching.
Jerry Allhands (11:28):
So y'all are going to try to raise 20% of
$10,000.
Tina Hurst (11:31):
Right, we're going to raise $2,000, and we're going
to we're not going to try,we're going to To match that
grant to help them get power tothe area.
This is an.
Jerry Allhands (11:44):
American Legion Auxiliary grant, or is this?
Tina Hurst (11:47):
a— yes, it's an ALA Foundation grant.
Jerry Allhands (11:49):
Tell me a little bit about that from your side.
Tina Hurst (11:57):
I mean, how did you find out about the grant?
What encouraged y'all to movethis direction?
Unit 6 has actually gotten agrant before.
We got a grant to buy a trailerto haul for Mississippi Project
Package to use to haul thedonations that they receive
across the state.
So Ricky Pope is a member ofthis post and he has that
trailer trailer and he goes todifferent places and takes
donations of items that get sentto the troops that are overseas
(12:21):
.
Jerry Allhands (12:21):
And you say that y'all will, we will, we will
raise two thousand dollars andthis will be done on April 19th,
I think you said.
Tina Hurst (12:31):
Yes, april 19th.
Jerry Allhands (12:32):
So this run and I'm going to do air quotes here
run.
What is a run?
Tina Hurst (12:39):
We, I say we.
I was the road captain for 10years by myself, until I talked
some other people into helping.
But the road captains set aride route.
They'll decide where we go.
The last one we did we went tomemorials, veterans, memorials.
Those were our stops.
Jerry Allhands (13:00):
But for somebody who's never I mean ridden a
motorcycle, never been involvedin anything.
What is a run?
What's?
Tina Hurst (13:06):
involved.
We meet here, they pay aregistration fee, we ride, we
come back.
We usually have a meal this onewe are going to have pancakes
and poppies that day as well, sothey'll have breakfast here
when they come in and they'llregister for the ride and then
we'll ride and we'll probablyride all day and we'll come back
(13:28):
.
Jerry Allhands (13:29):
What do you do on a ride?
I mean?
Tina Hurst (13:31):
Ride.
Just ride, just ride.
Jerry Allhands (13:33):
Just get on there and go, okay.
Tina Hurst (13:35):
We try not to stop.
Yeah, we.
We ride about 45 minutes andthen we'll stop for a bathroom
break, water break, whatever,and then we get on and ride
another 45 minutes.
Jerry Allhands (13:45):
So it's a fun ride, it's just you're not doing
anything as you go from point ato point b or anything like
that.
No, no purpose, no goal, notimeline, we just ride.
And how do you go about raisingthe, the money?
What?
What happens to to get thismoney to come in while you're on
this ride?
Tina Hurst (14:00):
registration fee.
So they, so the riders come inand they pay a fee per rider or
per bike to ride okay, do youget sponsors for it?
Jerry Allhands (14:10):
or I mean, two thousand dollars is a lot of.
For me it's a lot of money andI'm thinking if every rider has
got to pay a fee to ride, that'sa lot of donations from an
individual.
Tina Hurst (14:20):
Yeah, but they always come through.
The rider community in our areahas some of the biggest hearts
of anybody, I know.
If they find out that there's aveteran in need or there's a
purpose that supports a veteran,they're going to turn out,
they're going to show up.
Jerry Allhands (14:38):
Can anybody be involved in this right?
Sure, how do you get the wordout to the public on this?
Tina Hurst (14:43):
We use our Facebook page.
We have flyers that we're goingto send out.
Jerry Allhands (14:49):
What is your Facebook page?
What's your, your we?
Tina Hurst (14:52):
have multiple pages.
Uh, current post six is one.
We have uh msalr support page,which is a public page, and then
that's it do you have a website?
We have a state page.
We have MS the ALR chapters ofMississippi page.
(15:12):
Okay, we do not have a website.
Jerry Allhands (15:15):
If somebody wanted to reach out to the post,
six riders, and you know wantto want to join.
Is there a phone number or dothey just show up in the post or
what?
How does that happen?
Tina Hurst (15:26):
Uh, the only phone number would be my phone number
or Mike's phone number or Nora'sphone number.
There's a list outside thebuilding that has about 10
people on it.
Jerry Allhands (15:34):
Okay.
Tina Hurst (15:35):
There are phone numbers on the Facebook page.
Jerry Allhands (15:37):
Is that something you want to share, or
the people have to come by thepost to see that number?
Tina Hurst (15:40):
No, we can share it All right Share phone number
662-415-9938.
662-415-9799.
Jerry Allhands (15:56):
And who's going to answer that phone?
Tina Hurst (15:58):
That would be me and Mike.
Jerry Allhands (16:00):
Which Mike is that?
Because I got five Mike.
Tina Hurst (16:02):
Mike, mike, mike and Mike.
That's the first, mike MikeHurst, mike Hurst.
Jerry Allhands (16:05):
All right.
And what if somebody?
If they meet the obligation orthe privilege of being a rider,
they have to be a veteran or amember of the auxiliary, or what
?
Tina Hurst (16:18):
Or the sons.
Jerry Allhands (16:19):
Or the sons?
Yep, okay, and how, being aveteran, anybody, I mean, does
it have to be an honorabledischarge?
Can you have a dishonorabledischarge?
Can you be an idiot, Can you?
Tina Hurst (16:30):
You have to have an honorable discharge.
Jerry Allhands (16:34):
It's the same qualifications that you would
have to meet to be a member ofthe legion okay, so honorably
discharged, having served anytime since december 7th right
1941, right one day of activeduty.
Tina Hurst (16:46):
Yep, honorable discharge, honorable discharge
and own a motorcycle and own amotorcycle.
What else?
Or you have to be the spouse ofsomeone who owns a motorcycle
and you still qualify for fullmembership okay, besides owning
a motorcycle, is there anythingelse?
Jerry Allhands (17:01):
I mean, do they have to have a, an endorsement,
do they have to have?
Tina Hurst (17:04):
insurance, they have to have an endorsement, they
have to keep insurance and theyhave to keep a valid
registration and do you requirethem to prove that they've got
all this before?
Absolutely Every year Everyyear.
Every year.
Jerry Allhands (17:19):
Okay, and so they walk in with a driver's
license, proof of insurance,proof of registration.
Tina Hurst (17:26):
What else?
Well, they have to be a memberof the Legion family.
So we want them to be a memberof the Sons, the Auxiliary or
the Legion and actuallyparticipate with those three
portions of the family.
The riders at Post 6 are theleadership in this post.
(17:49):
They hold leadership positionsin every branch of this family
and they are the core supportfor everything that happens here
.
Jerry Allhands (17:59):
Mike, how many members are there in this
writer's post?
Writer's chapter.
Mike Shipman (18:08):
I think about 30.
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (18:11):
And the writers meet when.
Mike Shipman (18:14):
Usually we'll meet when we have the American
Legion regular membershipmeetings.
When is that?
The second Thursday of eachmonth at 6 o'clock.
Then, after we have the regularLegion meeting, legion riders
will meet, something I don'tknow if we made clear a while
ago.
When we have our rides to raisemoney, anybody can come ride.
(18:37):
Other groups you know a lot ofdifferent clubs ride with us and
some will come make a donation.
Then they'll go do their thing.
But any groups are welcome toride with us.
When we're doing a fundraiserthey don't have to be a member
of the Legion Riders.
When we're having fundraisersit's kind of, I guess you'd say,
(18:58):
open to the public.
Terry Phillips (18:59):
Okay.
Mike Shipman (18:59):
But we expect everybody to act right.
Jerry Allhands (19:02):
Sure, so you meet on the second Thursday at 6
pm here at the Post.
That's correct Is thatimmediately following your
regular post meeting.
Mike Shipman (19:10):
Yes.
Jerry Allhands (19:11):
Okay, what's the physical address of this post?
Tina Hurst (19:13):
511 South Tate Street in Corinth Mississippi
38834.
Mike Shipman (19:24):
Mike, tell me a little bit more about the ride
that you were just telling meabout a moment ago, which?
Jerry Allhands (19:28):
ride To get out and ride.
Mike Shipman (19:29):
Yeah, usually when we meet here at the post, like
Tina said, you'll register,you'll pay your fee.
Usually it's $25 a bike,depending on what we're doing.
We have a lot of goodfellowship.
Usually Mike Hurst will havecoffee made for us.
Usually it's pretty strong, butwe can adjust accordingly.
(19:51):
Sometimes we have snacks andstuff.
We'll always have a rider'smeeting, you know, tell where
we're going, explain the route,what we expect during the ride
and then once we get back a lotof times the ladies' auxiliary.
They'll have a meal or havelunch fixed or whatever's
appropriate for that afternoonto have us something to eat.
Jerry Allhands (20:13):
That's pretty good.
You get to go on a fun ride andcome back and get fed.
Mike Shipman (20:16):
Oh yeah, and usually we'll have to stop, you
know, like Tina said, for thebathroom breaks, or may have to
fuel up.
Different ones have differentsize gas tanks and it's just a
big brotherhood.
It just seems to bring peopletogether real well.
No laugh, cut up, have a goodtime, but it's for a very
important mission.
Jerry Allhands (20:36):
Jim, tell me a little bit about what a road
captain is.
Jim Horton (20:41):
They're usually in charge of the ride itself.
They plan the route, plan stoptimes when we do have those, and
they get blockers in caseblockers are needed for the
intersections.
What does that mean?
If you've got a column of bikesand you come into an
(21:01):
intersection, they have assignedpeople.
They call blockers.
They ride on ahead and blockthe road just long enough for
the column of bikes to getthrough, to pass through, and
then they catch up.
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (21:20):
Do you get a hard time from the law
enforcement if you have to dothat?
Jim Horton (21:25):
No, sir, not.
We never have to, my knowledge.
Jerry Allhands (21:27):
What about the public?
Jim Horton (21:30):
I haven't seen any complaints.
You know it's for our safetyand theirs.
You know how many riders areusually involved when something
like that happens it varies, youknow, some people can't come
because of work or otherobligations, but usually we have
maybe 10, 15, something likethat.
(21:51):
That on a normal thing.
You know, a bigger event wemight have more.
Jerry Allhands (21:58):
The average ride lasts how long?
Jim Horton (22:04):
I've been on some, you know, maybe an hour and a
half to three hours.
It just depends on where we'regoing and what we're doing.
You know, If we're going tosome place in particular, we'll
stop and spend some time there,you know, and then we'll move on
to somewhere else.
So your time is going to vary.
Jerry Allhands (22:25):
Tina, what is the one thing that y'all did as
a group this past year that wasthe most memorable for you.
Tina Hurst (22:33):
When we went to Camp Shelby to greet the Legacy Run
when they came through, we wentdown there and helped work,
handing out water, snacks,helped Debra with setting up, so
we had we, the department gotdetergent pods for the Legacy
Run people that were comingthrough so they could do laundry
(22:53):
at Camp Shelby that night.
Okay, and being there seeingthem come through and being able
to spend the afternoon and theevening with them at Camp Shelby
.
You know Mike said it's abrotherhood.
I'm not a man, but my Legionfamily, my riders, treat me just
(23:24):
like I am.
They don't treat our auxiliarymembers or our Sons members any
different because we are afamily and we behave as a family
.
You know the Legion saysthere's no rank among us, this
organization, this post family.
That's truer than I've everseen, because there's not a
(23:49):
single person in this entirepost family that doesn't matter
to everybody else in this family.
Jerry Allhands (23:55):
Tell me about the Legacy Ride.
You said that going down toCamp Shelby.
For those who don't know whatthe Legacy Ride is, what is that
?
Tina Hurst (24:01):
Legacy Ride is the National Legion Riders
fundraiser.
So the beneficiary of theLegacy Run for years has been
the Legacy Scholarships.
They are now fully funded.
So the national leadership wentto the Legion Rider leadership
(24:21):
and said, hey, we need you tocome over here and help us with
this.
So they switched over to theVeterans and Children's
Foundation, which trains veteranservice officers and also gives
$1,500 grants to veterans andtheir families that are
struggling.
So that has been thebeneficiary of the Legacy Run
(24:42):
for the last two years and willcontinue to be until they decide
to change it again.
You can support the Legacy Runwithout actually having to ride
in the Legacy Run.
Terry Phillips (24:57):
How do you do that?
Tina Hurst (24:58):
By registering on the national website.
When they open registration,you can go in and you can pay
the $50 registration.
No, it's more than $50 now.
I think it was $85 the lasttime but you can pay that
registration fee and that moneygoes toward the legacy run
donation.
You get a patch, you get allthe stuff that anybody that's
(25:20):
riding gets.
You just don't ride um.
I've been able to participate inportions of that run twice and
both times it's been amazing thelast, the last time, the last
(25:41):
time we rode, we left mobile andwe had fairly sunny skies until
we got to meridian, and whilewe were at meridian lunch, the
monsoon started and it stayeduntil we got to Tupelo.
I've never participated withover 300 motorcycles riding in
the rain so bad that all you cansee is the taillights in front
(26:05):
of you, and nobody went down.
Terry Phillips (26:09):
Wow.
Tina Hurst (26:10):
No wrecks, nobody went down, nothing From Meridian
all the way to Tupelo.
Jerry Allhands (26:16):
And how far is that?
Tina Hurst (26:17):
I don't have a clue.
Jerry Allhands (26:21):
We'll look that one up.
It is.
Tina Hurst (26:23):
It's a couple hundred miles A couple hundred
miles, probably, yeah, severalmiles.
What did you say?
250.
, wow, 250 miles In the rain, inthe rain, in the pouring rain.
I mean no joke.
Everybody had on rain suits.
Everybody had on, you know,people had full face helmets,
gloves, the whole nine.
There was not a single personon that ride that was not
(26:45):
soaking wet by the time we gotto Tupelo.
Jerry Allhands (26:47):
What time of the year.
Tina Hurst (26:48):
This was in August.
Jerry Allhands (26:51):
Mississippi, in Mississippi, in rain.
Tina Hurst (26:53):
In the humidity, in the rain.
Jerry Allhands (26:54):
Wearing a rain suit.
Tina Hurst (26:55):
Wearing a rain suit.
Jerry Allhands (26:56):
So you're wet on the inside and the outside.
Tina Hurst (26:58):
That's right, that's right.
Jerry Allhands (27:01):
So we've talked about the Legacy Ride, we've
discussed the event.
This Rain Legacy Ride.
This was two years ago, threeyears ago, year before last,
year before last, okay, and theone that you just did in Camp
Shelby was when.
Tina Hurst (27:15):
That was in August of 24.
Wow.
Jerry Allhands (27:19):
So Legacy Run is always in August.
Tina Hurst (27:20):
It's always in August, it leads up to the
national convention and italways ends at the national
convention.
Jerry Allhands (27:26):
And for somebody who wants to get involved with
that.
You mentioned a website.
What's the?
Tina Hurst (27:31):
It's a.
Jerry Allhands (27:35):
Legionorg yes.
Tina Hurst (27:36):
Legionorg.
I say ALA for veterans, butthat's not it, it's Legionorg.
Slash riders.
Okay, and then you'll have tosearch for the Legacy Run, or
you could just go on Google andtype in American Legion Legacy
Run.
Jerry Allhands (27:51):
Well, that makes it too easy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Of course, let's pause for amoment to hear from some of the
people who have helped to makethis episode possible with their
financial support.
A very special thank you toDean and Judy Graves of Mount
Vernon, missouri, for theirfinancial support.
Dean passed away recentlywithout ever hearing the podcast
, but he believed in thisproject and his support helps to
(28:13):
make each episode possible, andBe willing to show up for a
veteran.
988 (28:27):
Be willing to stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
Terry Phillips (28:31):
Be willing to push and prod if things don't
add up.
Be willing to trust your gut.
988 (28:36):
Follow your heart and take a risk, be willing to sit
without saying a word, withoutchecking the time, without
trying to solve.
Mike Shipman (28:45):
Sometimes suicide wants to rip a person from this
world.
988 (28:49):
Be willing to grab with both hands and hold on to a
friend, a spouse, a daughter, ason.
Terry Phillips (28:57):
Be the one who's willing to ask to guess wrong
to even offend another, to keepthem safe, to remind them that
they are valuable.
If you know a veteran, be theone to reach out and make them a
part of your life.
988 (29:17):
When a person calls 988, they're connected to a crisis
counselor.
Crisis is completelyself-defined.
If you're wondering if youshould call, you should probably
call.
A caller can expect to talkabout coping skills, talk about
resources and ways to moveforward.
Beyond the call, they can callus, they can chat, they can text
(29:39):
and when they come out on theother side they're feeling
better.
Call or text 988 or chat988lifelineorg.
Hello, my name is Nora Moreland.
I am a proud US Marine, thegranddaughter of a World War II
US Navy veteran, adelbert Shea,who served in the Pacific
Theater, the wife of a combatcorpsman and a mother of an
(30:04):
active duty Marine.
I would humbly ask you tosponsor the Veterans Sound Off
podcast.
Each episode tells the storiesof what we in the American
Legion do locally and around theworld.
Thank you.
Jerry Allhands (30:17):
The Veterans Sound Off podcast is made
possible by you, the listener,and we need your help in keeping
this podcast series going.
Your continued financialsupport enables us to produce
these episodes.
Call 662-902-6658 today andwe'll give you all the details
on how you and or your businesscan become a sponsor.
And now back to this episode ofthe Veterans Sound Off Podcast.
(30:40):
Back to the post.
Here.
We meet on the second Thursdayat 6 pm and anybody's welcome to
come to a post meeting.
Tina Hurst (30:53):
Anybody is welcome to come to a post meeting.
Jerry Allhands (30:57):
How much does it cost to join the riders?
Or is there a fee to join theriders?
I should say there is a fee tojoin the riders, or does is
there a fee to join the?
Tina Hurst (31:02):
riders.
I should say there is a fee tojoin the riders.
Um, you have to pay your legionauxiliary sons membership,
whatever that is, and then it'sten dollars for our riders and
five dollars of that goes to thedepartment.
Is that a yearly?
Jerry Allhands (31:15):
it's yearly yes, okay, um, and a person joins
here at the post, or can they goonline and join, or how does
that happen?
Tina Hurst (31:25):
They can join online , not the riders.
They can join the LegionAuxiliary or the Suns online.
It just takes a little while toget to us.
Terry Phillips (31:34):
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (31:35):
So you prefer somebody to join here locally?
Tina Hurst (31:37):
Yes, join the Legion .
We prefer that they come here.
Okay, we prefer that they comehere.
Jerry Allhands (31:41):
Okay, what's the worst thing?
You've seen, Mike, as a rider.
I'm sure you've seen accidents.
You've seen things like thathappen For years.
My wife said I could get amotorcycle as soon as I
increased my life insurance,which I did recently, and now
(32:04):
she's encouraging me.
Why are you encouraging me?
What's the absolute worst thingyou think?
Mike Shipman (32:10):
you've seen Just right offhand.
As far as the Legion riders, Ican't think of any bad wrecks
we've had.
Of course we've seen wrecks.
We come up on them.
The thing about motorcyclesusually it's not the motorcycle
that's dangerous, it's theautomobiles you have to look out
for.
But people break down.
(32:31):
But we always have somethingset up somebody with a truck and
trailer.
Usually we have tools that wecarry with us so we can get
somebody else going.
One of the worst things I'veseen is somebody wanting to ride
that either don't have amotorcycle or for some reason
can't afford to keep it.
That kind of breaks my heart.
(32:52):
But yeah, you know we've seenwrecks.
But again, out of all the yearsof riding with the Legion
riders, I can't think of none ofus on a Legion ride that's been
in a bad accident.
Jerry Allhands (33:06):
It's good to know.
It is Good to know.
Well, jim, what would youencourage someone to if they
wanted to join?
Would you encourage them tojoin the riders?
And we talk about training.
What would you say to somebody?
Jim Horton (33:20):
Yeah, I would encourage them very much to join
.
It's a lot of fun, it has apurpose, it has a goal in mind.
Practice training, you know, onyour bike.
Get familiar with your bike,you know, so you'll be
(33:41):
comfortable on your bike.
Get familiar with your bike,you know, so you'll be
comfortable.
I've seen where some people buya bike just to get in some kind
of special ride.
That's never been on a bike intheir life ever.
And you know they don't knowwhat they're doing and that
promotes a danger to themselvesand everybody else around them.
(34:03):
You know safety is the mainthing on a ride.
You've got to pay attention tothe road because, like Mike said
, it's not necessarily thebikers that's causing the wrecks
, it's the automobiles.
They don't see us.
That's the number one excuse.
Well, I didn't see him, youknow.
In my opinion on that, what Ithink could be one of the
(34:25):
possible reasons is that mostpeople in cars that's not
familiar with motorcycles oranything, their mind is not
attuned to watch for motorcycles.
They're smaller objects.
They don't think of them asoften.
All they're interested in isbeing safe around cars and big
trucks.
A lot of times they justprobably actually don't see them
(34:48):
because their mind's not gearedthat way.
It's not trained to look forsmaller vehicles on the road.
Jerry Allhands (34:56):
Where would you send someone to get trained to
ride a motorcycle?
Jim Horton (35:01):
There's different places that provide it.
Harley-davidson has anexcellent program.
Tina went to it and they prettymuch teach you everything the
proper steering techniques andjust anything to do with how to
ride a motorcycle.
They cover it.
Jerry Allhands (35:20):
Tina, tell me a little bit about the training
you went through.
Tina Hurst (35:28):
It's a weekend class .
I through the harley dealership, um.
I actually took my written testbefore I went and then um used
that as my writing test to getmy license.
But I learned more riding withthese guys Because after I got
(35:49):
my license and had my motorcycle, they taught me.
They put me in different spotsin the lineup.
You need to learn how to ridehere.
You need to learn how to ridethere.
You need to learn how to dothis.
You need to learn how to ridein the front.
You need to learn how to ridehere.
You need to learn how to ridethere.
You need to learn how to dothis.
You need to learn how to ridein the front.
You need to learn how to ridein the back.
You need to learn how to keepup, not let your spaces gap.
(36:09):
I learned a lot in the firsttwo years riding with them.
Jerry Allhands (36:14):
So let's talk about that.
I've seen riders on the roadand they've all got these
spacings and these two in a lineor something.
What is that all about, mike?
If you would explain some ofthat to us.
Mike Shipman (36:30):
We don't ride handlebar to handlebar.
We ride in a staggered formationlike left to right, at least
one bike length in between youTo give you some space If
something happens.
You can go left, you can goright, or give you some space to
stop.
Okay, we use a lot of handsignals to let ones know behind
(36:54):
you what's going on.
You always check for the riderbehind you.
If you don't see them, you stopand check on them.
There's a lot of little rulesand sometimes I guess we get
ahead of ourselves, maybethinking everybody knows them.
That's why we have a rider'smeeting to go over these rules
before each meeting and you dothe hand and arm signals, and
you refresh all that every time.
(37:16):
Usually and we'll see what thegroup is because we ride enough
with everybody to kind of knowyou know who's been riding, who
knows this and that but we goover a lot of rules every time
we have riders meeting so whenyou get out on the road
everybody feels comfortable,that everybody knows what's you
know needed of them required ofthem.
Jerry Allhands (37:36):
Yes, and I would assume, based on everything
you've just said, that that willcut down on accidents and
incidents on the road.
Mike Shipman (37:45):
Definitely.
Jerry Allhands (37:47):
What would you say to an automobile rider
driver who's on the road withother motorcyclists to ensure
your safety and ensure theirs aswell?
Mike Shipman (37:57):
A lot of people just with the cars, motorcycles.
Everybody wants to ride.
It's too big a hurry, they ridetoo fast, they don't give
enough space.
You've got to give space andyou've got to pay attention to
what you're doing.
Stay off your cell phonespeople.
I've been in law enforcementfor a long time and cell phones
(38:18):
on the road now it's as bad asthe DUI drivers are, worse it's
bad.
And when you have a pencil thatcan cover up a motorcycle in
the mirror about the width of apencil, light these motorcycles
up.
Make sure all your lights areworking.
But people pay attention.
Jerry Allhands (38:38):
It's good that you brought that up about law
enforcement, Tina.
What do you do in yourday-to-day life as far as
employment goes?
Tina Hurst (38:47):
I work for an attorney law firm, mostly real
estate transactional law.
Mike Shipman (38:52):
Mike, what do you do?
40 years in law enforcement,still serving?
Jerry Allhands (38:57):
Awesome.
Mike Shipman (38:58):
Local police sheriff state.
I'm a deputy sheriff now herein Alcorn County and McNair
County.
I retired from the CorinthPolice Department.
Jerry Allhands (39:05):
Jim, what are you doing?
Jim Horton (39:07):
I'm retired of 18 years with the correctional
officer.
I started out at the CorinthPolice Department and then
switched over to the AlcornCounty Sheriff's Department.
Jerry Allhands (39:20):
All right, Coming up in this next year,
outside of the event coming upon April 19th.
Is there anything else that youwant people to be aware of
coming up?
Tina Hurst (39:29):
We have an annual event for the Legion Riders at
Chapter 6, which is called ourFreedom Ride.
It's the first Saturday inOctober and that is our main
fundraiser for the year.
That's how we raise all of ourfunds to do what the Legion
Riders do every year.
Jerry Allhands (39:46):
And give me that date again.
Tina Hurst (39:48):
It's.
I don't know what it is.
Jerry Allhands (39:49):
It's the first.
Tina Hurst (39:50):
Saturday in October I think it's the 4th October,
the 4th, yeah, and we usuallyhave an auction mail 50-50,
different things.
Jerry Allhands (40:04):
And this is something anybody in the public
can be involved with.
Tina Hurst (40:06):
Anybody in the public can be involved with.
Yes, All of our events at thePost are open to the public.
Jerry Allhands (40:12):
Anything you all would like to add as far as the
.
What do I call it?
It's a chapter, Chapter okay.
Mike Shipman (40:18):
Our Legion Riders and the American Legion.
Family, family, family.
Bring your wife, your kids,your girlfriend, maybe not both.
Jerry Allhands (40:29):
Definitely not at the same time right.
Mike Shipman (40:32):
But we encourage family involvement because all
of us, when we served ourfamilies, got us through what we
had to deal with while servingin the military and very
family-oriented and somethingelse.
When we say brotherhood, seeall these ladies, we have A lot
of things we do wouldn't bepossible without the lady.
But brotherhood, it'sbrotherhood.
(40:53):
She may be a female brotherhood.
Tina Hurst (40:59):
He can say that because he's known me since I
was 13.
Jerry Allhands (41:01):
Ooh, I want to thank you all for joining me
today on this, and I reallyappreciate you being here, Terry
, if you would give us a closingprayer as well.
Terry Phillips (41:09):
Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Lord, for thisopportunity to gather here today
.
Lord, we pray that you watchover us all as we travel back
home.
Keep us safe, have everythingwe do do in your name.
In Jesus Christ's name, we pray.
Jerry Allhands (41:23):
Amen.
Thank you, Terry, and that wasour visit with the Post 6 Legion
Riders.
Be sure to join us next timefor another visit with a member
of the American Legion family.
We want to say thank you to themembers of the Post 6 family
who made financial and physicalcontributions to the support of
this podcast.
If you would like to supportthis podcast, please call
662-902-6658 for moreinformation.
(41:46):
A very special thank you toJonathan Michael Fleming for his
musical talents.
You can find his CDs and videoson Facebook, Instagram, Amazon
Music and YouTube.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode and look forward to your
feedback and ask that yousubscribe to and share the
Veterans Sound Off podcast withyour friends and family.
This has been a production ofAll Hands Media LLC, with
(42:09):
offices in Reno, Laura,Mississippi.
All rights reserved.
This is the Veterans Sound Off Podcast.
I'm your host, jerry Allhands,a veteran of the US Air Force
and US Army.
I'm also a past Department ofMississippi commander of the
American Legion.
On each episode we will hearfrom the members of the American
Legion family and from othergroups that continue to support
(00:20):
veterans and their families.
This week we visit with thePerry A Johns American Legion
Post 6 Legion Riders and learnhow the Post 6 Riders became
official and what they haveplanned for 2025.
I'm in northwest Mississippithis morning talking with the
Legion Riders of Post 6.
And every time I have said I'mnot even going to say the name
(00:41):
of the city because every time Ido it I do it wrong.
Y'all.
Somebody say the name of thecity, because every time I do it
, I do it wrong.
Y'all.
Somebody say the name of thecity.
Tina Hurst (00:46):
How about I spell it , to teach you how to say it?
Jerry Allhands (00:48):
Oh see, there you go.
She's going to spell it.
All right, spell it.
Tina Hurs (00:56):
C-A-H-H-H-H-H-R-N-T-H .
Jerry Allhands (01:00):
Corinth.
Tina Hurst (01:01):
Corinth.
Jerry Allhands (01:02):
See Corinth Mississippi.
There you go.
I'm going to ask somebody, ifyou would, who would like to
open us with prayer this morning.
Tina Hurst (01:12):
I think that we would ask that our chapter
chaplain do that if that isagreeable to you.
Jerry Allhands (01:18):
Who's your chapter chaplain?
Tina Hurst (01:19):
Terry Phillips.
Jerry Allhands (01:21):
Is Terry Phillips in the room?
Tina Hurst (01:22):
Terry Phillips is in the room.
Terry Phillips (01:23):
All right if you'll bow your heads.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you, lord, for this day.
Thank you, lord, for all theblessings you've given us.
Thank you, lord, for us safetravels here and back home.
Pray, lord, that everything wedo we do in your name.
In Jesus Christ's name we pray,amen.
Jerry Allhands (01:40):
Amen, and this morning we're going to start
with introductions.
If you would, starting from myleft going to my right, If you
would please introduce yourselfand give your title here with
the Legion Riders.
Terry Phillips (01:48):
I'm Terry Phillips and I'm the Riders
Chaplain and one of the RoadCaptain.
Tina Hurst (01:56):
Tina Hurst.
I am the Chapter 6 RidersDirector and Road Captain.
Mike Shipman (02:01):
Mike Shipman, post 6, riders road captain.
Jim Horton (02:06):
Jim Horton post six assistant director.
Jerry Allhands (02:09):
And starting with Tina.
Tina, what makes you eligibleto be in the Legion Riders?
Tina Hurst (02:15):
I am a member of the auxiliary and I own, operate
and insure my own motorcycle.
That's pretty much it.
That's pretty much it.
Jerry Allhands (02:24):
That's pretty much it.
Tina Hurst (02:25):
That's it.
You just have to be a member ofthe Legion family, which I'm a
member of, the auxiliary.
That could be the sons or theLegion and own or operate a
motorcycle.
Jerry Allhands (02:39):
Own and operate sorry.
Own and operate.
Own and operate.
And you remember the AmericanLegion Auxiliary.
Tina Hurst (02:46):
Mm-hmm, all right.
Jerry Allhands (02:47):
And how did you join the auxiliary?
What makes you eligible for theauxiliary?
Tina Hurst (02:50):
My son was Gulf War Navy and my husband was in the
Navy during the Panama conflict.
Jerry Allhands (02:58):
How long have you been in the Riders?
Tina Hurst (03:00):
Since 2007.
In 2006, the Legion Riders wereformed in Mississippi through
the DEC approved all that, so webecame official in 2006.
We I say we, mike and I boughtour first motorcycle in 2006.
We were out riding and stoppedat a little old hole-in-the-wall
restaurant called the Hitchin'Post at Kossuth and stopped at a
(03:21):
little old hole-in-the-wallrestaurant called the Hitchin'
Post at Kasuth.
There were motorcycles in theparking lot and we went in to
eat lunch and inside was a groupof Legion Riders.
They were on their way toescort a veteran who'd been
killed in action and asked us tocome with them.
From that day to this I've beena Legion rider.
Jerry Allhands (03:46):
And you said Kasu Kasuth.
What is that?
Where is that?
Tina Hurst (03:50):
That is about 10 miles west of Corinth.
That's where a lot of us wentto high school.
There's nothing there except agas station, a little store and
a high school.
Jerry Allhands (04:03):
That's a lot Kasuth, kasuth, kasuth.
Mike Shipman (04:08):
No K-O-S-S-U-T-H.
Jerry Allhands (04:09):
I can't even say that one Kasuth, kasuth, kasuth
Not.
Tina Hurst (04:14):
Kasuth, no Kasuth.
Jerry Allhands (04:17):
Perfect, Mike.
What makes you eligible to be arider?
Mike Shipman (04:29):
Well, I'm a veteran and I've been in the
Legion for over 30 years andbeing some friends, along with
Tina and most people in thisroom, by being in the Legion,
because I grew up in the Legion.
My father was a World War IIveteran.
He was commander here for manyyears and we kind of seen.
You know, what else could we doto help benefit the Legion, to
(04:50):
help build the membership,because you know, membership is
how we raise money to donate tothe different organizations.
And so once I come back home, Iwas stationed at Fort Seal.
I served during the Panamaconflict, stationed at Panama
for a while.
(05:10):
Notice, a lot of us like ridingmotorcycles, so Tina's help and
a few others, best I canremember was the first chapter
in the state.
We were and it's really been abig access.
People get in.
I'm a veteran but I like toride motorcycles.
I said, hey, you'll fit rightin, and so we started the legion
(05:32):
riders.
Tina keeps us busy.
Uh, my car.
We got a lot of mics in thischapter seems like we do, but uh
, you know, we want to have agood time but there's a lot of
work put into it and certainones, especially the ones in
this room, they put in a lot ofpersonal time to make this a
success.
And by being a veteran andliking to ride motorcycles and
(05:57):
armed and discharged, you know,out of the military, met all the
requirements.
It's something I really enjoy.
I've rode motorcycles all mylife and been a veteran since
1978, so I just I really enjoythis being part of the Legion.
Now.
Jerry Allhands (06:16):
If I can ask, which branch of the service were
you in?
Mike Shipman (06:18):
In the Army.
What did you do in the Army?
I was a field artillery when Iwent through boot camp.
But when I went to Panama, Iwas a field artillery when I
went through boot camp.
When I went to Panama, I was incombat engineers.
Jerry Allhands (06:28):
And you said you were stationed in Panama.
Mike Shipman (06:30):
Well, I served time before they had the
invasion of Panama.
We built roads and an airstripdown there in the jungle.
Jerry Allhands (06:36):
What size motorcycle do you ride?
What do you have?
I have a.
Mike Shipman (06:39):
Harley Davidson Road Glide, got all the bags on
it.
I got a little trailer.
I pull behind it.
Care all my stuff if I have toTravel all over?
A lot of trips are going duringthe summer, going 5,000,
6,000-mile trips on it.
Jerry Allhands (06:56):
Whoa yeah, that'll wear you out in a hurry.
Mike Shipman (06:57):
But now the rides, usually with the Legion family.
We try to ride on the weekend.
Some we may ride 200 or 300miles that day.
We have some big rides to thecoast planned already.
We talked about our lastmeeting.
We ride as a group.
We have rules we have to follow.
We follow all the laws of thestate.
(07:17):
The road captains have a bigresponsibility.
It's very well organized.
It ain't just a bunch going outacting crazy.
We don't tolerate that at all.
Jerry Allhands (07:29):
So there's no Sons of Anarchy on this ride.
No, no, yeah.
I say that because so manytimes people ask me oh, you're a
motorcycle gang, you're amotorcycle group, and we clarify
that real quick.
Mike Shipman (07:40):
But now we do have respect for all the clubs and
riders.
We'll treat them with respectthat they'll let us.
You know, we don't try to saywe're better than nobody else,
but we have a mission.
We actually have a mission, youknow, to help support the
different organizations that wedonate to.
Jerry Allhands (07:58):
Jim, what makes you eligible to be in the
American Legion of Riders?
You're going to have to moveforward to the microphone.
Jim Horton (08:10):
Yeah well, I'm a US Navy veteran.
My father was also a World WarII veteran, so that makes me a
double dual membership, you know, as a regular legionnaire as
well as a son.
Jerry Allhands (08:19):
What did you do in the Navy?
Jim Horton (08:21):
I was an aviation ordnanceman.
Jerry Allhands (08:23):
Yeah, for those of us who weren't privileged
enough to be in the navy.
What does that mean?
Jim Horton (08:28):
uh, I loaded munitions, ordinance and stuff
on.
I was in an f-14 outfit I wasstationed out in san diego.
I was on the uss kitty hawk and, uh, it was a f-14 fighter
squadron.
We loaded the missiles in the20-millimeter rounds and made
sure all of our ordnance,electronics and things make sure
(08:53):
they worked, you know, andthings that we would be on
launches and recoveries.
Jerry Allhands (09:02):
Okay, how long were you?
Terry Phillips (09:02):
in the.
Jim Horton (09:01):
Navy launches and recoveries.
Jerry Allhands (09:03):
Okay, how long were you in the Navy?
Jim Horton (09:11):
All total my active duty and my reserve time was
about 10 years.
Jerry Allhands (09:13):
My favorite question is would you go back
now?
Yes, yes.
Tina Hurst (09:19):
So, we're going to enlist you anyway.
I don't know if he'd go back ornot?
Yeah, no, I didn't say him, Isaid you.
But if he went, yeah, I'd go.
Jerry Allhands (09:30):
You'd go?
Okay, I'd go too, now, yeah,not last year, yeah.
Jim Horton (09:38):
No, I would do it in a heartbeat, yeah.
Jerry Allhands (09:41):
If I could, they won't let us in for some reason
.
Jim Horton (09:44):
No, it might be an age thing, I don't know.
Jerry Allhands (09:46):
It's arthritis.
Yeah, yeah yeah, Tina, let'stalk a little bit about some of
the activities you are coming upthis year the Legion Riders.
Tina Hurst (09:55):
One of the things that we have coming up.
We had a fairly livelydiscussion at our meeting this
week about veteran homelessness.
We have a facility that is inprocess called Ronnie's Retreat,
over in Tishomingo County.
It's about 10, 12 miles east ofus, and we, as a post-six
(10:20):
family Legion Riders, adoptedRonnie's Retreat and Hinderless
22 as our mission for this year.
So the first thing that we havecoming up is April the 19th.
We are having a ride to benefitRonnie's Retreat and Hinderless
22 to raise funds for amatching grant that we're going
(10:42):
to help them get power to theplace.
He's got four buildings outthere that he's going to house
homeless veterans.
He has doctors on staff readyto go, ready to volunteer their
time.
He's got counselors ready to go.
They just don't have power.
And that's the next step.
Jerry Allhands (11:00):
Where is this location?
Tina Hurst (11:01):
It is in Burnsville, Mississippi.
Jerry Allhands (11:03):
Is that North Mississippi, where we're at?
Tina Hurst (11:05):
Yes, it's about 15 miles east of Corinth.
Jerry Allhands (11:08):
You were saying that you're looking at raising
matching funds, right.
Tina Hurst (11:14):
So the Auxiliary, the ALA Foundation, has grants
for veteran service projects andthey will award up to $10,000,
but you have to match 20% ofthat money.
Okay, so that's the matching.
Jerry Allhands (11:28):
So y'all are going to try to raise 20% of
$10,000.
Tina Hurst (11:31):
Right, we're going to raise $2,000, and we're going
to we're not going to try,we're going to To match that
grant to help them get power tothe area.
This is an.
Jerry Allhands (11:44):
American Legion Auxiliary grant, or is this?
Tina Hurst (11:47):
a— yes, it's an ALA Foundation grant.
Jerry Allhands (11:49):
Tell me a little bit about that from your side.
Tina Hurst (11:57):
I mean, how did you find out about the grant?
What encouraged y'all to movethis direction?
Unit 6 has actually gotten agrant before.
We got a grant to buy a trailerto haul for Mississippi Project
Package to use to haul thedonations that they receive
across the state.
So Ricky Pope is a member ofthis post and he has that
trailer trailer and he goes todifferent places and takes
donations of items that get sentto the troops that are overseas
(12:21):
.
Jerry Allhands (12:21):
And you say that y'all will, we will, we will
raise two thousand dollars andthis will be done on April 19th,
I think you said.
Tina Hurst (12:31):
Yes, april 19th.
Jerry Allhands (12:32):
So this run and I'm going to do air quotes here
run.
What is a run?
Tina Hurst (12:39):
We, I say we.
I was the road captain for 10years by myself, until I talked
some other people into helping.
But the road captains set aride route.
They'll decide where we go.
The last one we did we went tomemorials, veterans, memorials.
Those were our stops.
Jerry Allhands (13:00):
But for somebody who's never I mean ridden a
motorcycle, never been involvedin anything.
What is a run?
What's?
Tina Hurst (13:06):
involved.
We meet here, they pay aregistration fee, we ride, we
come back.
We usually have a meal this onewe are going to have pancakes
and poppies that day as well, sothey'll have breakfast here
when they come in and they'llregister for the ride and then
we'll ride and we'll probablyride all day and we'll come back
(13:28):
.
Jerry Allhands (13:29):
What do you do on a ride?
I mean?
Tina Hurst (13:31):
Ride.
Just ride, just ride.
Jerry Allhands (13:33):
Just get on there and go, okay.
Tina Hurst (13:35):
We try not to stop.
Yeah, we.
We ride about 45 minutes andthen we'll stop for a bathroom
break, water break, whatever,and then we get on and ride
another 45 minutes.
Jerry Allhands (13:45):
So it's a fun ride, it's just you're not doing
anything as you go from point ato point b or anything like
that.
No, no purpose, no goal, notimeline, we just ride.
And how do you go about raisingthe, the money?
What?
What happens to to get thismoney to come in while you're on
this ride?
Tina Hurst (14:00):
registration fee.
So they, so the riders come inand they pay a fee per rider or
per bike to ride okay, do youget sponsors for it?
Jerry Allhands (14:10):
or I mean, two thousand dollars is a lot of.
For me it's a lot of money andI'm thinking if every rider has
got to pay a fee to ride, that'sa lot of donations from an
individual.
Tina Hurst (14:20):
Yeah, but they always come through.
The rider community in our areahas some of the biggest hearts
of anybody, I know.
If they find out that there's aveteran in need or there's a
purpose that supports a veteran,they're going to turn out,
they're going to show up.
Jerry Allhands (14:38):
Can anybody be involved in this right?
Sure, how do you get the wordout to the public on this?
Tina Hurst (14:43):
We use our Facebook page.
We have flyers that we're goingto send out.
Jerry Allhands (14:49):
What is your Facebook page?
What's your, your we?
Tina Hurst (14:52):
have multiple pages.
Uh, current post six is one.
We have uh msalr support page,which is a public page, and then
that's it do you have a website?
We have a state page.
We have MS the ALR chapters ofMississippi page.
(15:12):
Okay, we do not have a website.
Jerry Allhands (15:15):
If somebody wanted to reach out to the post,
six riders, and you know wantto want to join.
Is there a phone number or dothey just show up in the post or
what?
How does that happen?
Tina Hurst (15:26):
Uh, the only phone number would be my phone number
or Mike's phone number or Nora'sphone number.
There's a list outside thebuilding that has about 10
people on it.
Jerry Allhands (15:34):
Okay.
Tina Hurst (15:35):
There are phone numbers on the Facebook page.
Jerry Allhands (15:37):
Is that something you want to share, or
the people have to come by thepost to see that number?
Tina Hurst (15:40):
No, we can share it All right Share phone number
662-415-9938.
662-415-9799.
Jerry Allhands (15:56):
And who's going to answer that phone?
Tina Hurst (15:58):
That would be me and Mike.
Jerry Allhands (16:00):
Which Mike is that?
Because I got five Mike.
Tina Hurst (16:02):
Mike, mike, mike and Mike.
That's the first, mike MikeHurst, mike Hurst.
Jerry Allhands (16:05):
All right.
And what if somebody?
If they meet the obligation orthe privilege of being a rider,
they have to be a veteran or amember of the auxiliary, or what
?
Tina Hurst (16:18):
Or the sons.
Jerry Allhands (16:19):
Or the sons?
Yep, okay, and how, being aveteran, anybody, I mean, does
it have to be an honorabledischarge?
Can you have a dishonorabledischarge?
Can you be an idiot, Can you?
Tina Hurst (16:30):
You have to have an honorable discharge.
Jerry Allhands (16:34):
It's the same qualifications that you would
have to meet to be a member ofthe legion okay, so honorably
discharged, having served anytime since december 7th right
1941, right one day of activeduty.
Tina Hurst (16:46):
Yep, honorable discharge, honorable discharge
and own a motorcycle and own amotorcycle.
What else?
Or you have to be the spouse ofsomeone who owns a motorcycle
and you still qualify for fullmembership okay, besides owning
a motorcycle, is there anythingelse?
Jerry Allhands (17:01):
I mean, do they have to have a, an endorsement,
do they have to have?
Tina Hurst (17:04):
insurance, they have to have an endorsement, they
have to keep insurance and theyhave to keep a valid
registration and do you requirethem to prove that they've got
all this before?
Absolutely Every year Everyyear.
Every year.
Jerry Allhands (17:19):
Okay, and so they walk in with a driver's
license, proof of insurance,proof of registration.
Tina Hurst (17:26):
What else?
Well, they have to be a memberof the Legion family.
So we want them to be a memberof the Sons, the Auxiliary or
the Legion and actuallyparticipate with those three
portions of the family.
The riders at Post 6 are theleadership in this post.
(17:49):
They hold leadership positionsin every branch of this family
and they are the core supportfor everything that happens here
.
Jerry Allhands (17:59):
Mike, how many members are there in this
writer's post?
Writer's chapter.
Mike Shipman (18:08):
I think about 30.
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (18:11):
And the writers meet when.
Mike Shipman (18:14):
Usually we'll meet when we have the American
Legion regular membershipmeetings.
When is that?
The second Thursday of eachmonth at 6 o'clock.
Then, after we have the regularLegion meeting, legion riders
will meet, something I don'tknow if we made clear a while
ago.
When we have our rides to raisemoney, anybody can come ride.
(18:37):
Other groups you know a lot ofdifferent clubs ride with us and
some will come make a donation.
Then they'll go do their thing.
But any groups are welcome toride with us.
When we're doing a fundraiserthey don't have to be a member
of the Legion Riders.
When we're having fundraisersit's kind of, I guess you'd say,
(18:58):
open to the public.
Terry Phillips (18:59):
Okay.
Mike Shipman (18:59):
But we expect everybody to act right.
Jerry Allhands (19:02):
Sure, so you meet on the second Thursday at 6
pm here at the Post.
That's correct Is thatimmediately following your
regular post meeting.
Mike Shipman (19:10):
Yes.
Jerry Allhands (19:11):
Okay, what's the physical address of this post?
Tina Hurst (19:13):
511 South Tate Street in Corinth Mississippi
38834.
Mike Shipman (19:24):
Mike, tell me a little bit more about the ride
that you were just telling meabout a moment ago, which?
Jerry Allhands (19:28):
ride To get out and ride.
Mike Shipman (19:29):
Yeah, usually when we meet here at the post, like
Tina said, you'll register,you'll pay your fee.
Usually it's $25 a bike,depending on what we're doing.
We have a lot of goodfellowship.
Usually Mike Hurst will havecoffee made for us.
Usually it's pretty strong, butwe can adjust accordingly.
(19:51):
Sometimes we have snacks andstuff.
We'll always have a rider'smeeting, you know, tell where
we're going, explain the route,what we expect during the ride
and then once we get back a lotof times the ladies' auxiliary.
They'll have a meal or havelunch fixed or whatever's
appropriate for that afternoonto have us something to eat.
Jerry Allhands (20:13):
That's pretty good.
You get to go on a fun ride andcome back and get fed.
Mike Shipman (20:16):
Oh yeah, and usually we'll have to stop, you
know, like Tina said, for thebathroom breaks, or may have to
fuel up.
Different ones have differentsize gas tanks and it's just a
big brotherhood.
It just seems to bring peopletogether real well.
No laugh, cut up, have a goodtime, but it's for a very
important mission.
Jerry Allhands (20:36):
Jim, tell me a little bit about what a road
captain is.
Jim Horton (20:41):
They're usually in charge of the ride itself.
They plan the route, plan stoptimes when we do have those, and
they get blockers in caseblockers are needed for the
intersections.
What does that mean?
If you've got a column of bikesand you come into an
(21:01):
intersection, they have assignedpeople.
They call blockers.
They ride on ahead and blockthe road just long enough for
the column of bikes to getthrough, to pass through, and
then they catch up.
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (21:20):
Do you get a hard time from the law
enforcement if you have to dothat?
Jim Horton (21:25):
No, sir, not.
We never have to, my knowledge.
Jerry Allhands (21:27):
What about the public?
Jim Horton (21:30):
I haven't seen any complaints.
You know it's for our safetyand theirs.
You know how many riders areusually involved when something
like that happens it varies, youknow, some people can't come
because of work or otherobligations, but usually we have
maybe 10, 15, something likethat.
(21:51):
That on a normal thing.
You know, a bigger event wemight have more.
Jerry Allhands (21:58):
The average ride lasts how long?
Jim Horton (22:04):
I've been on some, you know, maybe an hour and a
half to three hours.
It just depends on where we'regoing and what we're doing.
You know, If we're going tosome place in particular, we'll
stop and spend some time there,you know, and then we'll move on
to somewhere else.
So your time is going to vary.
Jerry Allhands (22:25):
Tina, what is the one thing that y'all did as
a group this past year that wasthe most memorable for you.
Tina Hurst (22:33):
When we went to Camp Shelby to greet the Legacy Run
when they came through, we wentdown there and helped work,
handing out water, snacks,helped Debra with setting up, so
we had we, the department gotdetergent pods for the Legacy
Run people that were comingthrough so they could do laundry
(22:53):
at Camp Shelby that night.
Okay, and being there seeingthem come through and being able
to spend the afternoon and theevening with them at Camp Shelby
.
You know Mike said it's abrotherhood.
I'm not a man, but my Legionfamily, my riders, treat me just
(23:24):
like I am.
They don't treat our auxiliarymembers or our Sons members any
different because we are afamily and we behave as a family
.
You know the Legion saysthere's no rank among us, this
organization, this post family.
That's truer than I've everseen, because there's not a
(23:49):
single person in this entirepost family that doesn't matter
to everybody else in this family.
Jerry Allhands (23:55):
Tell me about the Legacy Ride.
You said that going down toCamp Shelby.
For those who don't know whatthe Legacy Ride is, what is that
?
Tina Hurst (24:01):
Legacy Ride is the National Legion Riders
fundraiser.
So the beneficiary of theLegacy Run for years has been
the Legacy Scholarships.
They are now fully funded.
So the national leadership wentto the Legion Rider leadership
(24:21):
and said, hey, we need you tocome over here and help us with
this.
So they switched over to theVeterans and Children's
Foundation, which trains veteranservice officers and also gives
$1,500 grants to veterans andtheir families that are
struggling.
So that has been thebeneficiary of the Legacy Run
(24:42):
for the last two years and willcontinue to be until they decide
to change it again.
You can support the Legacy Runwithout actually having to ride
in the Legacy Run.
Terry Phillips (24:57):
How do you do that?
Tina Hurst (24:58):
By registering on the national website.
When they open registration,you can go in and you can pay
the $50 registration.
No, it's more than $50 now.
I think it was $85 the lasttime but you can pay that
registration fee and that moneygoes toward the legacy run
donation.
You get a patch, you get allthe stuff that anybody that's
(25:20):
riding gets.
You just don't ride um.
I've been able to participate inportions of that run twice and
both times it's been amazing thelast, the last time, the last
(25:41):
time we rode, we left mobile andwe had fairly sunny skies until
we got to meridian, and whilewe were at meridian lunch, the
monsoon started and it stayeduntil we got to Tupelo.
I've never participated withover 300 motorcycles riding in
the rain so bad that all you cansee is the taillights in front
(26:05):
of you, and nobody went down.
Terry Phillips (26:09):
Wow.
Tina Hurst (26:10):
No wrecks, nobody went down, nothing From Meridian
all the way to Tupelo.
Jerry Allhands (26:16):
And how far is that?
Tina Hurst (26:17):
I don't have a clue.
Jerry Allhands (26:21):
We'll look that one up.
It is.
Tina Hurst (26:23):
It's a couple hundred miles A couple hundred
miles, probably, yeah, severalmiles.
What did you say?
250.
, wow, 250 miles In the rain, inthe rain, in the pouring rain.
I mean no joke.
Everybody had on rain suits.
Everybody had on, you know,people had full face helmets,
gloves, the whole nine.
There was not a single personon that ride that was not
(26:45):
soaking wet by the time we gotto Tupelo.
Jerry Allhands (26:47):
What time of the year.
Tina Hurst (26:48):
This was in August.
Jerry Allhands (26:51):
Mississippi, in Mississippi, in rain.
Tina Hurst (26:53):
In the humidity, in the rain.
Jerry Allhands (26:54):
Wearing a rain suit.
Tina Hurst (26:55):
Wearing a rain suit.
Jerry Allhands (26:56):
So you're wet on the inside and the outside.
Tina Hurst (26:58):
That's right, that's right.
Jerry Allhands (27:01):
So we've talked about the Legacy Ride, we've
discussed the event.
This Rain Legacy Ride.
This was two years ago, threeyears ago, year before last,
year before last, okay, and theone that you just did in Camp
Shelby was when.
Tina Hurst (27:15):
That was in August of 24.
Wow.
Jerry Allhands (27:19):
So Legacy Run is always in August.
Tina Hurst (27:20):
It's always in August, it leads up to the
national convention and italways ends at the national
convention.
Jerry Allhands (27:26):
And for somebody who wants to get involved with
that.
You mentioned a website.
What's the?
Tina Hurst (27:31):
It's a.
Jerry Allhands (27:35):
Legionorg yes.
Tina Hurst (27:36):
Legionorg.
I say ALA for veterans, butthat's not it, it's Legionorg.
Slash riders.
Okay, and then you'll have tosearch for the Legacy Run, or
you could just go on Google andtype in American Legion Legacy
Run.
Jerry Allhands (27:51):
Well, that makes it too easy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Of course, let's pause for amoment to hear from some of the
people who have helped to makethis episode possible with their
financial support.
A very special thank you toDean and Judy Graves of Mount
Vernon, missouri, for theirfinancial support.
Dean passed away recentlywithout ever hearing the podcast
, but he believed in thisproject and his support helps to
(28:13):
make each episode possible, andBe willing to show up for a
veteran.
988 (28:27):
Be willing to stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
Terry Phillips (28:31):
Be willing to push and prod if things don't
add up.
Be willing to trust your gut.
988 (28:36):
Follow your heart and take a risk, be willing to sit
without saying a word, withoutchecking the time, without
trying to solve.
Mike Shipman (28:45):
Sometimes suicide wants to rip a person from this
world.
988 (28:49):
Be willing to grab with both hands and hold on to a
friend, a spouse, a daughter, ason.
Terry Phillips (28:57):
Be the one who's willing to ask to guess wrong
to even offend another, to keepthem safe, to remind them that
they are valuable.
If you know a veteran, be theone to reach out and make them a
part of your life.
988 (29:17):
When a person calls 988, they're connected to a crisis
counselor.
Crisis is completelyself-defined.
If you're wondering if youshould call, you should probably
call.
A caller can expect to talkabout coping skills, talk about
resources and ways to moveforward.
Beyond the call, they can callus, they can chat, they can text
(29:39):
and when they come out on theother side they're feeling
better.
Call or text 988 or chat988lifelineorg.
Hello, my name is Nora Moreland.
I am a proud US Marine, thegranddaughter of a World War II
US Navy veteran, adelbert Shea,who served in the Pacific
Theater, the wife of a combatcorpsman and a mother of an
(30:04):
active duty Marine.
I would humbly ask you tosponsor the Veterans Sound Off
podcast.
Each episode tells the storiesof what we in the American
Legion do locally and around theworld.
Thank you.
Jerry Allhands (30:17):
The Veterans Sound Off podcast is made
possible by you, the listener,and we need your help in keeping
this podcast series going.
Your continued financialsupport enables us to produce
these episodes.
Call 662-902-6658 today andwe'll give you all the details
on how you and or your businesscan become a sponsor.
And now back to this episode ofthe Veterans Sound Off Podcast.
(30:40):
Back to the post.
Here.
We meet on the second Thursdayat 6 pm and anybody's welcome to
come to a post meeting.
Tina Hurst (30:53):
Anybody is welcome to come to a post meeting.
Jerry Allhands (30:57):
How much does it cost to join the riders?
Or is there a fee to join theriders?
I should say there is a fee tojoin the riders, or does is
there a fee to join the?
Tina Hurst (31:02):
riders.
I should say there is a fee tojoin the riders.
Um, you have to pay your legionauxiliary sons membership,
whatever that is, and then it'sten dollars for our riders and
five dollars of that goes to thedepartment.
Is that a yearly?
Jerry Allhands (31:15):
it's yearly yes, okay, um, and a person joins
here at the post, or can they goonline and join, or how does
that happen?
Tina Hurst (31:25):
They can join online , not the riders.
They can join the LegionAuxiliary or the Suns online.
It just takes a little while toget to us.
Terry Phillips (31:34):
Okay.
Jerry Allhands (31:35):
So you prefer somebody to join here locally?
Tina Hurst (31:37):
Yes, join the Legion .
We prefer that they come here.
Okay, we prefer that they comehere.
Jerry Allhands (31:41):
Okay, what's the worst thing?
You've seen, Mike, as a rider.
I'm sure you've seen accidents.
You've seen things like thathappen For years.
My wife said I could get amotorcycle as soon as I
increased my life insurance,which I did recently, and now
(32:04):
she's encouraging me.
Why are you encouraging me?
What's the absolute worst thingyou think?
Mike Shipman (32:10):
you've seen Just right offhand.
As far as the Legion riders, Ican't think of any bad wrecks
we've had.
Of course we've seen wrecks.
We come up on them.
The thing about motorcyclesusually it's not the motorcycle
that's dangerous, it's theautomobiles you have to look out
for.
But people break down.
(32:31):
But we always have somethingset up somebody with a truck and
trailer.
Usually we have tools that wecarry with us so we can get
somebody else going.
One of the worst things I'veseen is somebody wanting to ride
that either don't have amotorcycle or for some reason
can't afford to keep it.
That kind of breaks my heart.
(32:52):
But yeah, you know we've seenwrecks.
But again, out of all the yearsof riding with the Legion
riders, I can't think of none ofus on a Legion ride that's been
in a bad accident.
Jerry Allhands (33:06):
It's good to know.
It is Good to know.
Well, jim, what would youencourage someone to if they
wanted to join?
Would you encourage them tojoin the riders?
And we talk about training.
What would you say to somebody?
Jim Horton (33:20):
Yeah, I would encourage them very much to join
.
It's a lot of fun, it has apurpose, it has a goal in mind.
Practice training, you know, onyour bike.
Get familiar with your bike,you know, so you'll be
(33:41):
comfortable on your bike.
Get familiar with your bike,you know, so you'll be
comfortable.
I've seen where some people buya bike just to get in some kind
of special ride.
That's never been on a bike intheir life ever.
And you know they don't knowwhat they're doing and that
promotes a danger to themselvesand everybody else around them.
(34:03):
You know safety is the mainthing on a ride.
You've got to pay attention tothe road because, like Mike said
, it's not necessarily thebikers that's causing the wrecks
, it's the automobiles.
They don't see us.
That's the number one excuse.
Well, I didn't see him, youknow.
In my opinion on that, what Ithink could be one of the
(34:25):
possible reasons is that mostpeople in cars that's not
familiar with motorcycles oranything, their mind is not
attuned to watch for motorcycles.
They're smaller objects.
They don't think of them asoften.
All they're interested in isbeing safe around cars and big
trucks.
A lot of times they justprobably actually don't see them
(34:48):
because their mind's not gearedthat way.
It's not trained to look forsmaller vehicles on the road.
Jerry Allhands (34:56):
Where would you send someone to get trained to
ride a motorcycle?
Jim Horton (35:01):
There's different places that provide it.
Harley-davidson has anexcellent program.
Tina went to it and they prettymuch teach you everything the
proper steering techniques andjust anything to do with how to
ride a motorcycle.
They cover it.
Jerry Allhands (35:20):
Tina, tell me a little bit about the training
you went through.
Tina Hurst (35:28):
It's a weekend class .
I through the harley dealership, um.
I actually took my written testbefore I went and then um used
that as my writing test to getmy license.
But I learned more riding withthese guys Because after I got
(35:49):
my license and had my motorcycle, they taught me.
They put me in different spotsin the lineup.
You need to learn how to ridehere.
You need to learn how to ridethere.
You need to learn how to dothis.
You need to learn how to ridein the front.
You need to learn how to ridehere.
You need to learn how to ridethere.
You need to learn how to dothis.
You need to learn how to ridein the front.
You need to learn how to ridein the back.
You need to learn how to keepup, not let your spaces gap.
(36:09):
I learned a lot in the firsttwo years riding with them.
Jerry Allhands (36:14):
So let's talk about that.
I've seen riders on the roadand they've all got these
spacings and these two in a lineor something.
What is that all about, mike?
If you would explain some ofthat to us.
Mike Shipman (36:30):
We don't ride handlebar to handlebar.
We ride in a staggered formationlike left to right, at least
one bike length in between youTo give you some space If
something happens.
You can go left, you can goright, or give you some space to
stop.
Okay, we use a lot of handsignals to let ones know behind
(36:54):
you what's going on.
You always check for the riderbehind you.
If you don't see them, you stopand check on them.
There's a lot of little rulesand sometimes I guess we get
ahead of ourselves, maybethinking everybody knows them.
That's why we have a rider'smeeting to go over these rules
before each meeting and you dothe hand and arm signals, and
you refresh all that every time.
(37:16):
Usually and we'll see what thegroup is because we ride enough
with everybody to kind of knowyou know who's been riding, who
knows this and that but we goover a lot of rules every time
we have riders meeting so whenyou get out on the road
everybody feels comfortable,that everybody knows what's you
know needed of them required ofthem.
Jerry Allhands (37:36):
Yes, and I would assume, based on everything
you've just said, that that willcut down on accidents and
incidents on the road.
Mike Shipman (37:45):
Definitely.
Jerry Allhands (37:47):
What would you say to an automobile rider
driver who's on the road withother motorcyclists to ensure
your safety and ensure theirs aswell?
Mike Shipman (37:57):
A lot of people just with the cars, motorcycles.
Everybody wants to ride.
It's too big a hurry, they ridetoo fast, they don't give
enough space.
You've got to give space andyou've got to pay attention to
what you're doing.
Stay off your cell phonespeople.
I've been in law enforcementfor a long time and cell phones
(38:18):
on the road now it's as bad asthe DUI drivers are, worse it's
bad.
And when you have a pencil thatcan cover up a motorcycle in
the mirror about the width of apencil, light these motorcycles
up.
Make sure all your lights areworking.
But people pay attention.
Jerry Allhands (38:38):
It's good that you brought that up about law
enforcement, Tina.
What do you do in yourday-to-day life as far as
employment goes?
Tina Hurst (38:47):
I work for an attorney law firm, mostly real
estate transactional law.
Mike Shipman (38:52):
Mike, what do you do?
40 years in law enforcement,still serving?
Jerry Allhands (38:57):
Awesome.
Mike Shipman (38:58):
Local police sheriff state.
I'm a deputy sheriff now herein Alcorn County and McNair
County.
I retired from the CorinthPolice Department.
Jerry Allhands (39:05):
Jim, what are you doing?
Jim Horton (39:07):
I'm retired of 18 years with the correctional
officer.
I started out at the CorinthPolice Department and then
switched over to the AlcornCounty Sheriff's Department.
Jerry Allhands (39:20):
All right, Coming up in this next year,
outside of the event coming upon April 19th.
Is there anything else that youwant people to be aware of
coming up?
Tina Hurst (39:29):
We have an annual event for the Legion Riders at
Chapter 6, which is called ourFreedom Ride.
It's the first Saturday inOctober and that is our main
fundraiser for the year.
That's how we raise all of ourfunds to do what the Legion
Riders do every year.
Jerry Allhands (39:46):
And give me that date again.
Tina Hurst (39:48):
It's.
I don't know what it is.
Jerry Allhands (39:49):
It's the first.
Tina Hurst (39:50):
Saturday in October I think it's the 4th October,
the 4th, yeah, and we usuallyhave an auction mail 50-50,
different things.
Jerry Allhands (40:04):
And this is something anybody in the public
can be involved with.
Tina Hurst (40:06):
Anybody in the public can be involved with.
Yes, All of our events at thePost are open to the public.
Jerry Allhands (40:12):
Anything you all would like to add as far as the
.
What do I call it?
It's a chapter, Chapter okay.
Mike Shipman (40:18):
Our Legion Riders and the American Legion.
Family, family, family.
Bring your wife, your kids,your girlfriend, maybe not both.
Jerry Allhands (40:29):
Definitely not at the same time right.
Mike Shipman (40:32):
But we encourage family involvement because all
of us, when we served ourfamilies, got us through what we
had to deal with while servingin the military and very
family-oriented and somethingelse.
When we say brotherhood, seeall these ladies, we have A lot
of things we do wouldn't bepossible without the lady.
But brotherhood, it'sbrotherhood.
(40:53):
She may be a female brotherhood.
Tina Hurst (40:59):
He can say that because he's known me since I
was 13.
Jerry Allhands (41:01):
Ooh, I want to thank you all for joining me
today on this, and I reallyappreciate you being here, Terry
, if you would give us a closingprayer as well.
Terry Phillips (41:09):
Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Lord, for thisopportunity to gather here today
.
Lord, we pray that you watchover us all as we travel back
home.
Keep us safe, have everythingwe do do in your name.
In Jesus Christ's name, we pray.
Jerry Allhands (41:23):
Amen.
Thank you, Terry, and that wasour visit with the Post 6 Legion
Riders.
Be sure to join us next timefor another visit with a member
of the American Legion family.
We want to say thank you to themembers of the Post 6 family
who made financial and physicalcontributions to the support of
this podcast.
If you would like to supportthis podcast, please call
662-902-6658 for moreinformation.
(41:46):
A very special thank you toJonathan Michael Fleming for his
musical talents.
You can find his CDs and videoson Facebook, Instagram, Amazon
Music and YouTube.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode and look forward to your
feedback and ask that yousubscribe to and share the
Veterans Sound Off podcast withyour friends and family.
This has been a production ofAll Hands Media LLC, with
(42:09):
offices in Reno, Laura,Mississippi.
All rights reserved.
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