Today is Veteran’s Day.. a holiday that is always very important to the biker nations.. for reasons far more austere than a free meal at the Golden Corral.
The history of Veterans becoming bikers dates back to World War II, when returning soldiers found they no longer fit the molds of civilian life. Many veterans felt confined and bored in the lives they lead before they went into the service. They found civilian life to be stifling and mundane compared to the excitement of war, and some found themselves missing the structure and lifestyle and brotherhood of the military itself. Many of those Vets found a shared interest in motorcycles, particularly surplus military bikes. A large number of surplus military motorcycles, mostly Harley-Davidsons, were available for cheap after the war, and many of those soldiers had developed a love for the two wheeled machines during their tours of duty. This led to the post-war birth of motorcycle clubs.
The 1940s and 1950s in America saw a rise in the formation of numerous clubs, including the precursors to well-known clubs groups like the Hells Angels. Some of the earliest clubs, like the Boozefighters, were born from post-war rallies where Veterans sought excitement and camaraderie. Even back then, the ‘fake news’ media sensationalized those events and made up stories, which eventually became the outlaw biker image that exists even today.
There is still a very strong bond between Veterans and bikers in current America… and they aren’t just in the clubs.. they are peppered throughout every aspect of the biker nations, including here at Bikernet and Easyriders. One of our very favorite veterans that helped shape the culture of American bikers is our owner, Keith ‘Bandit’ Ball.
In 1971, after three tours in Vietnam courtesy of the United States Navy, Keith was hired by Lou Kimzey at Easyriders Magazine to run the first national motorcyclists’ rights organization, ABATE. He was working part time for Easyriders while he attended Long Beach City College on the G.I.Bill. It wasn’t long until Keith was an associate editor at Easyriders.. and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, 54 years later, Keith has bought the struggling old magazine himself, and has untaken the huge task of restoring her to her former glory, and use her to try to help the other biker Freedom Fighters save the gasoline engine, and maybe even America herself.
We salute Keith, and every other biker Veteran in America. Those guys are as much a part of American patriotism and culture as the men who stormed Normandy and the first American soldiers who thundered toward freedom on horseback… and we salute each and every one of them.
Happy Veteran’s Day, and God Bless America.
-Amy Irene White
