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. 

 

 

26 Aug

Thunder Over Dover: 2017 Dover AFB Open House

08/26/2017 - 08/27/2017    
All Day
The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will return to the Dover skies August 26-27, 2017, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. www.dover.af.mil/ThunderOverDover
End of Watch Memorial Ride

End of Watch Memorial Ride

08/27/2017    
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Come see us at the Memorial Ride fundraiser for fallen Delaware Heroes. We've lost 6 first responders in the past 10 months and want to honor them and their familes. There is an escorted motorcycle ride that will begin at Rommel HD in Smyrna and end at Delaware Park for an afternoon of food trucks, beverage sales, live entertainment, lots of vendors and kid-friendly activities. Registration for the motorcycle ride can be done online through the ticket link provided in this event. Onsite registration will also be available from 9 am to 10:30 am at the Rommel Harley-Davidson Smyrna location. The Fallen Heroes Benefit at Delaware Park will begin around 10 am and is open to anyone. There is no cost to enter this event, [...]
27 Aug

Rolling Thunder Poker RUn

08/27/2017    
9:00 am
The ride starts at Tramontin Harley-Davidson, 482 Hope Blairstown Road in Hope. Registration is from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. The ride fee is $20.00 per person. The ride ends with food, music, prizes and more. For more information call (908) 455-0709 or go to http://www.rollingthundernj3.wixsite.com/rtnj3.
27 Aug

Bike Blessing - Light House Riders

08/27/2017    
9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Light House Riders Biker Blessing at Kingsway Church on Sunday August 27th. Coffee and donuts beginning at 9:30am. Biker Blessing at 10:15am. Church Service to follow. All are welcome to attend. Questions, contact John at john.m.laks@gmail.com or 609-502-9726. Free boot shine!
Delaware Fallen Heroes Benefit Delaware Park Picnic Grove

Delaware Fallen Heroes Benefit Delaware Park Picnic Grove

08/27/2017    
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
This Fallen Heroes Benefit will be at the Delaware Park Picnic Grove that features a shaded picnic grove with large tents, drink specials, live music, fire and police demonstrations and displays, vendors, penny social, and more. This is a family-friendly event, so we encourage you to spread the word throughout the community. Parking for cars is available, so come early and see the bikes from the “Heroes End of Watch Memorial Ride” arrive around 11:45 a.m. The bikes will be parked in a designated area away from the cars where you will be able to view them. Gates are open from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. We ask those arriving by car to donate what you can. There will be some bonus gifts to anyone [...]
10th annual Salute to Our Veterans Car Show

10th annual Salute to Our Veterans Car Show

08/27/2017    
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
The South Jersey Cruisers Association Car Club, Nostalgia Knights Classic Car Club, the Fox family and DJ Steve Tatz and Cruisin’ WVLT 92.1 will host the 10th annual Salute to Our Veterans, a car and motorcycle cruise dedicated to the veterans who live at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 27 at 524 Northwest Blvd. The rain date is Oct. 29. More than 500 cars and 200 motorcycles are expected to attend the event which is free for participants and spectators. The cruise is open to cars that are American marques only and all motorcycles.
Evesham Fallen Heroes Softball Tournament

Evesham Fallen Heroes Softball Tournament

08/27/2017    
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Come out August 27th for the Fallen Hero Softball Tournament - @ the Diamonds at Arrowhead Park Come out and support the Evesham Township Police Department, Fire Department, and local businesses as they come together to celebrate the lives of local fallen heroes. Admission is free! This is going to be a great family event with Music, Food Trucks, Face Painting, Balloon Artist, Celebrity Athlete Guests, Gift Basket Auction and much much more. All Fundraising proceeds going to the families of our fallen hometown heroes. A night of fun and remembrance. During the event we are holding a game between the Police and Fire Explorers (they are high school aged children who learn about police and fire service through a partnership with the Boys Scouts). [...]
Somerset Patriots vs. Bridgeport Bluefish

Somerset Patriots vs. Bridgeport Bluefish

08/27/2017    
5:05 pm - 8:05 pm
The Somerset Patriots will honor all Veterans during a pregame ceremony on the field beginning at 4:15 pm Arrive early to be part of our special Veterans Celebration with keynote speakers- Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Jack Jacobs and Lieutenant General Richard Zilmer Patriots players will be available from 4:00 pm-4:15 pm on the field to sign autographs presented by Somerset County Park Foundation After the game, everyone gets to Run The Bases presented by BathFitter AARP Sunday: Buy One Get One Free (Field & Upper Box Tickets) For AARP Members
 


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 *