5-3-19 hogs for heroes recognized fdl marine veteran

This weekend a Fond du Lac marine veteran is being presented with the keys to  a ride of a lifetime.  The non-profit veterans group Hogs for Heroes is presenting Fond du Lac veteran Rob Thiede with the keys to a new Harley Davidson Road Glide motorcycle during a special ceremony Saturday.   Hogs for Heroes president, Kevin Thompson, says the group was formed three years ago to raise money to buy Harleys for injured Wisconsin veterans.  Thompson says the Purple Heart Riders of Wisconsin helped raise the money to purchase the bike at Open Road Harley Davidson in Fond du Lac for Thiede.  Thompson says Thiede is well deserving of the honor, with four deployments overseas in  Iraq.  “He was a heavy equipment operator, building roads and bases while you’re basically under constant attack,”  Thompson told WFDL news.  “He also operated machinery that the whole point of it was to dig up IEDs and land mines and have them explode.  There’s the physical injuries, but a big part of it that we really see a lot of is the PTSD.”  Thompson says Thiede was completely surprised when he was told he was getting a new motorcycle.  “We sat down and introduced ourselves and let’s just say he was stunned.   Very emotional, very grateful, very appreciative and also expressed some feelings of is he worthy of this?  We assured him he is.”   The ceremony starts at 11am Saturday at Open Road Harley Davidson in Fond du Lac.