Bikers parade for front line workers in Connecticut

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB/CBS NEWSPATH) – Veterans and their families showed appreciation for healthcare workers on Sunday with a motorcycle ride. 

“Any day the temperature gets above 60, we’re on our motorcycles,” said Dennis Carpenter. 

Carpenter is a member of America’s Freedom Defenders, a motorcycle group made of veterans and their families. 

It’s in the organization’s creed to honor those who serve their country so they coordinated a special ride on Sunday. 

“We can’t stop bringing enough awareness to these frontline workers who are risking themselves for everybody else,” Carpenter said. 

This is what operation “Thank You” looked like: a ride acknowledging the tireless efforts of healthcare workers amid the coronavirus crisis. 

They first stopped by Midstate Medical Center in Meriden. 

Then, they made their way to Hartford Hospital. Is AI fueling your decision-making?How do you know you can trust it?Ad By IBM See More

“These people have been working around the clock, all the time. We did the same thing. Again, we’re giving back today,” said Jay Weingart, National Vice President and Co-Founder of America’s Freedom Defenders. 

It’s their way of saying thank you to all the hospital workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. 

“The advantage to us is as veterans, we can see our combatants, our enemies, whatever you want to call it. They can’t see it. This is an invisible war they’re fighting. And they’re fighting it on a daily basis,” Weingart said. 

They say there are similarities in the battles service members and healthcare workers are fighting. 

“Just like when you join the military, you’re a part of something bigger than  yourself, I think probably if you ask any of these frontline staff, that’s what they’re doing. They’re helping in a situation that’s  bigger than them.” 

Organizers of the ride say it doesn’t matter which front you’re fighting the battle on, because we’re all in this together. 

“They need the moral support that they have given us over the years.”  

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Source: WKRG