UPDATE Regarding EVENTS

With thousands of like-minded followers, Patriot Connections has been dedicated to providing our veteran, military, first responder and patriot community with a comprehensive resource of events in NJ, PA and the surrounding areas for the last 10 years - including resources for veterans and first responders. Whether it's information on upcoming 5K Runs/Walks, Sporting Events, Job Fairs, Town Hall Meetings, Motorcycle Runs, Ceremonies, Dinners, Dances, Honor Missions, Welcome Homes, Golf Outings, or Resources for our Veterans, Military and 1st Responders. 

November 2021 - Over the last couple of years (including COVID), many events were cancelled/postponed and most organizations have chosen to list their events on social media platforms such as Facebook. Due to decrease in organizations listing their events directly on the Patriot Connection website, we primarily just list events on the Patriot Connections Facebook Page. Feel free to visit our Facebook Page for upcoming events and submit your events there. 

 

 

Save A Warrior MC Ride & BBQ

Save A Warrior MC Ride & BBQ

08/06/2017    
All Day
Starting point is American Legion Post 132 1 Legion Place, Franklin, NJ 07416 973-209-421 Registration is 9:00am to 11:00am - we will have coffee & Breakfast snacks. $20.00 per riders & $10.00 for passengers.   There will be 5 total stops & we will have a Save A Warrior member at each stop to meet & greet the riders post to post.   The BBQ will be at our destination American Legion Post 170, 33 W Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, NJ from 12:00pm to 6:00pm walk ins welcomed. Walk ins $10.00 We will have at least 4 Live bands, DJ, 5 Vendors & more. We will have 50/50 & more. We will also be showing the movie Project 22 & clips of Save A Warrior.   [...]
06 Aug

Knights in the Woods - Blue Knights NJ 3

08/06/2017    
9:00 am
Sponsored by Blue Knights NJ 3 The ride starts at the Deutscher Club, 787 Featherbed Lane in Clark. Registration begins at 9:00 am and the motorcycles go out at 11:00 am. The ride fee is $25.00 per person. The ride will be about 45 miles. There will be music, door prizes, vendors, and more. The proceeds will benefit the Valerie Fund. For more information call (732) 770-6067, click here to send e-mail, or go to http://www.bknjiii.org.
Antique Fire Apparatus Show

Antique Fire Apparatus Show

08/06/2017    
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Cradle of Liberty Antique Fire Apparatus Association (CLAFAA) will be hosting a show featuring old and modern fire apparatus, antique ambulances, police vehicles and tow trucks. There will be fire apparatus from the 1700’s all the way up to today. There will also be a fire service related flea market, fire safety displays, activities for children and food and refreshments. For more info go to www.CLAFAA.Org
Antique Fire Apparatus Show

Antique Fire Apparatus Show

08/06/2017    
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Cradle of Liberty Antique Fire Apparatus Association (CLAFAA) will be hosting a show featuring old and modern fire apparatus, antique ambulances, police vehicles and tow trucks. There will be fire apparatus from the 1700’s all the way up to today. There will also be a fire service related flea market, fire safety displays, activities for children and food and refreshments. For more info go to www.CLAFAA.Org
Tour of Prominent German-Americans at Laurel Hill Cemetery

Tour of Prominent German-Americans at Laurel Hill Cemetery

08/06/2017    
10:00 am
From Deutschland to Deadland: Tour of Prominent German-Americans at Laurel Hill Cemetery Sunday, August 6 at 10am Since its founding in 1682, German immigrants have played an important role in the development of Philadelphia. This summertime walking tour will include visits to the final resting places of prominent Germans, including military heroes, industrialists, politicians and nobility. Attendees will learn about German culture and history, concluding with a bier sampling of German style beers. Visitors may even learn to speak a little Deutsch. The tour will take place on Sunday, August 6 at 10:00am, departing from Laurel Hill Cemetery’s Gatehouse entrance at 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19132. Free parking is located in the lot across the street from the Gatehouse. The cost is $20/person general [...]
06 Aug

Welcome Home Pfc Jarred Stanley

08/06/2017    
1:00 pm
Army PFC Jarred Stanley, with the 101st Airborne out of Ft Campbell, is returning from a 9 month deployment in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of Lenape High School where he was the ROTC Battaltion Command Sgt Major. His dad was also with the Army with 31 years of active duty service, soon to be promorted to Master Sgt. Jarred was also a care pkg recipient of Operation Yellow Ribbon during his deployment. Join Operation Yellow Ribbon and friends at the VFW 2445, 914 E. Main St, Maple Shade, NJ on Sunday August 6th at 1:30pm to welcome him home. MOTORCYCLES - Join Warriors Watch Riders and friends to escort Pfc Jarred Stanley to his Welcome Home Party. Rally at Shoprite Parking Log, 892 Union [...]
Cornhole Tournament & BBQ to benefit Vets Helping Vets

Cornhole Tournament & BBQ to benefit Vets Helping Vets

08/06/2017    
3:00 pm
Come out for a cornhole tournament to benefit Vets Helping Vets. BBQ and live music start at 3pm and the tournament starts at 3:30pm. 50/50 - Long Throw Competition - Kan Jam - Side Games & Raffles
 


PATRIOT CONNECTIONS DOG TAG PROJECT

The Patriot Connections DOG TAG PROJECT MISSION: Return dog tags that were lost and found to the veterans they belong to or their families. If you believe we may have your dog tag please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

THE DOG TAG COLLECTIONS

SOUTH JERSEY COLLECTION – This collection of dog tags (450) journey home began in 1993 from DaNang and China Beach area in Vietnam where they were being sold in shops. Gloucester County Time Reporter Jim Six asked the then Deptford Police Chief Ray Milligan to purchase as many as he could and bring them home, as Milligan traveled back and forth to Vietnam for Operation Smile. He brought back 450 of them and gave them to Jim Six. Over the years several people/organizations worked with Jim Six on returning some of the dog tags. In 2010, he gave the rest to us to try and locate and return the rest of them. With much effort and research, we have located many, completed returns and have more returns underway throughout the United States. 

BOUGOURD COLLECTION - This collection of dog tags began their journey home after British Army/Navy veteran, Aaron Bougourd, received them from the family of Major Thien in 2006. Bougourd had been volunteering for the Father Ray Foundation Orphanage in Thialand when he met Major Thien, and helped him find his lost family in Vietnam. Thien, a South Vietnamese officer living as a refugee. Major Ly Kim Thien was commissioned as an officer of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1964 and served in several capacities throughout Vietnam up until the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was after this that he was sent to a communist reeducation camp, where he was tortured and forced to denounce his anti-communist beliefs. In 1994 he escaped Vietnam on foot through Cambodia and on to Thailand, which is where Aaron Bougourd met him. Thien’s family, as a token of appreciation, gave Bougourd some dog tags they had found at Ben Hoa Air Base. Aaron, a resident of the UK, reached out and sent some of the dog tags to Patriot Connections Dog Tag Project to help return them. Returns are underway. 

SANTAYANA COLLECTION - Touring the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1998, Wall Street trader Manny Santayana stumbled onto a Vietnamese man who made a living out of extracting bombs from the ground, grinding up the metal and selling it for profit. Sometime he would stumble upon dog tags from U.S. soldiers, which he would collect and store in an ammo bag under his bed. Santayana paid him $100 for 105 dog tags and brought them back home.Over the next several years, he was able to make some returns to dog tag owners, but he eventually became too busy to continue with the research. He then enlisted the help of Senator James Beach, who formed a committee for dog tag returns – Quinn-Morris has researched and facilitated returns from this collection. The collection is stored in the NJ State House.

HUTCHINGS COLLECTION - In December 2012, Jack Hutchings, a prominent businessman in Florida,  had been traveling on his yacht in the Solomon Islands. There, the villagers gave him some American WWII dog tags they had found. He brought them home in hopes of getting them returned to the veterans/families. . Upon returning home, he stumbled across a newspaper article in the Orlando-Sentinel about the dog tag return to USMC Vietnam veteran, James Alderman that we did. This prompted him to contact us in hopes that we could located and return the dog tags to the veterans/families they belong to.

MISC COLLECTIONS - From time to time we are contacted by people that have found dog tags and are looking for help in returning them. As long as they are looking to do so with NO CHARGE to the veteran, we do aide them in finding and returning.

Organizations helping with Dog Tag Project The following organizations have and continue to aid with the return of the dog tags nationwide; Nam Knights of America MC, American Legion Riders, VFW Riders, Warriors Watch Riders, Patriot Guard Riders, various American Legion Posts and VFW Posts. Returns have taken place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, New York, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, Washington DC, Oregon, Texas, California, Washington and Michigan.

It is essential to the Project that the dog tags are handled and delivered to the veterans and/or their families in a dignified manner.  From the moment the dog tag is handed off, to the moment it reaches the hand of the veteran, the dog tag is well cared for and attended to, to ensure that it arrives to the veteran/family safely. If you believe we may have your dog tag, or a dog tag that belongs to a family member or friend, please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

* Over 100 dog tags have been reunited with the veterans/families they belonged to. Please bear with us as we update the dog tag return stories and dog tag lists *