Motorcyclists begin the ride to Bear Lake and back to honor veterans who gave their lives for freedom 2020.
NORTH LOGAN – American Veterans Traveling Tribute (AVTT) and the Cost of Freedom Tribute will be coming to Elk Ridge Park in North Logan from Aug. 25 through Aug. 29.
Elk Ridge Park can be accessed from 2500 N. 1060 E. or 2300 N. 1200 E.
Phillip Redlinger, Chief Executive Officer/Founder of Cache Valley Veterans Association (CVVA), said he had been to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.
“I had a familial connection to it my father served two tours in Vietnam,” he said. “I would hope others would feel the same as they look at it.”
The traveling exhibit is 83 percent the size of the original wall and has names of the fallen etched in it. The “wall” stretches over 380 feet long and contains 58,253 names of fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives in service of their country.
“I would like everyone to see the memorial and make a connection to it,” he said. “I would hope people would come away with a feeling of gratitude and honor for those who served, not just see the wall.”
Besides the wall, there are also other displays that honor those who served in WWI, WWII, Korea, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and others. First responders will also be given a tribute.
“The wall came to Cache Valley in 2011 to the Cache County Fairgrounds, and they thought 25,000 people came to see it,” Redlinger said. “We have people coming from Idaho and Wyoming as well as from Cache Valley to experience it this year,” he added.
On Friday, there will be another tribute to first responders and there will be food trucks and live music. A raffle will be held with the proceeds going to the Dan Gyllenskog Veterans Resource Center.
On Saturday, the Michael J. Allred Ride for the Fallen will take place with registration beginning at 8 a.m. on site. The pancake breakfast for riders and passengers begins at 9 a.m. with kickstands up at 10:30 a.m. Generally, there are over 100 motorcycles on the road for the fundraiser.
The Ride for the Fallen is an annual motorcycle tour of northern Utah and southern Idaho paying tribute to Lance Corporal Michael J. Allred, a U.S. Marine from Hyde Park who was killed in action in Iraq on Sept. 6, 2004. His parents Brett and Zellene Allred founded a scholarship foundation to honor their son.
The goal of the Allred Scholarship Foundation is to honor the memory of their son and show appreciation to the Cache Valley community for their support during their time of loss.
Since 2007, the foundation has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants to deserving Utah State University students.
Brett Allred said they gave out 84 scholarships before turning the ride over to CVVA as a fundraiser for the organization.
“Our family dynamics changed and we wanted to find someone else to take over the ride,” he said. “CVVA came to us and wanted to take it over, so now we volunteer and advise them.”
The money generated supports the Dan Gyllenskog Veterans Resource Center, the home of the CVVA. The organization has several programs that help veterans in northern Utah, parts of Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho.
“Our son Michael had a group a friends that would ride up to Bear Lake through Preston and back through Logan Canyon,” he said. “When veterans took it over they tried going down through Box Elder County, but they have gone back to the original route.”
Allred said he wants people to support the ride. The money generated goes to help our local veterans.
“They used to have to go to Salt Lake to get help. Now it is much easier for them to stay in Logan,” he said. “We want people to come and support our veterans. We love them and want to pay honor and respect to them. They are our people.”
Generally, there some 100 volunteers that help make the 120-mile motorcycle ride through northern Utah and Idaho, around Bear Lake and home to Elk Horn Park successful.
Sunday, as the final part of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute and the Cost of Freedom Tribute there will be a non-denominational Field Church Service at 10 a.m. From there they will have a site clean-up.