Peacekeepers, Inc. includes Lincoln American Legion in annual drive

 

[July 21, 2022] 

Approximately 200 vehicles, a combination of motorcycles and Jeeps arrived in Lincoln at American Legion Post 263 just after noon on Sunday, July 17th for a lunch stop. The vehicles were participating in the annual Peacekeepers, Inc. annual drive. This year their route began at Camp Lincoln in Springfield and traversed to the Lincoln American Legion, then on to Mount Zion and Taylorville, then back to Springfield.

The Peacekeepers is a group of people from various walks of life, who have joined together to raise awareness, support and money to benefit families of first responders and military personnel who have suffered losses of loved ones and are enduring the hardships created by those losses.

The group raises money that goes to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund and also funding that is funneled through the Illinois Sheriff’s Association for scholarships for heirs of fallen first responders.

This year, before leaving Springfield the group presented a check to the Illinois Military Trust Fund for the Illinois Military Museum at Camp Lincoln. The money was given in memory of Retired Colonel James A. Smith Jr. who was very active with the museum after his retirement. Ret. Col. Smith died in May of this year.

The annual ride this year was dedicated to Ret. Col. Smith, as well as Sangamon County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Jason Boesdorfer, who also came to his end of watch in May.

In Lincoln, the stop at the American Legion included a lunch of corndogs from Lincoln Land Catering and a variety of beverages available from the Legion.



Mylas Copeland was serving as the spokesperson for the group on this ride and shared that the turnout for the ride was not as large as expected due to weather concerns. The group had originally said there would be about 400 vehicles with 800 or more people arriving in Lincoln. But stormy and rainy conditions in the early hours of the day had prevented many from coming to Springfield.

He noted that people come from throughout Illinois and beyond for the annual drive. He said there was even one person who was flying himself in from Florida early on Sunday morning, when he hit bad weather and decided to turn around and head back home before he got into something he couldn’t get out of safely.

Even so, the group was large and everyone seemed to enjoy the stop in Lincoln.

Copeland said that the group does the annual drive throughout portions of Illinois, each year taking a different route. This is the first year that they have visited Lincoln.



Among the bikers in the group, was Roger Stewart with Staab Funeral Home in Springfield. The funeral home offers a specially designed hearse that is often requested by families of military and law enforcement for their loved ones final ride to the cemetery.
 

Stewart said the hearse is offered to all, not just those who utilize the services of Staab. He noted that the bike and hearse have been used in Lincoln on a few occasions. He added that the special hearse is not exclusive to military and law enforcement. Anyone who wishes to have their loved one transported in the hearse may do so.

While most of the Jeeps were covered, offering the passengers a modest amount of protection from the weather, the bikers were out in the open. On Sunday many arrived in Lincoln in their rain gear, but began shedding it for the next leg of the drive when the sun trying to break through the clouds.

In all, it was a good stop in Lincoln, with riders and drivers happy for the break and almost all taking advantage of the corndogs being offered.

After their break, the group headed out again, traversing through Lincoln on Route 121 heading for Mount Zion.

[Nila Smith]