Norfolk taking part in Legion Legacy Run

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This Friday, three members of American Legion Post 298 in Marion, Iowa, including one with strong ties to Palmyra, will ride their motorcycles 416 miles to Rogers, Arkansas and join approximately 300 Legionnaires from across the United States for the 13th Annual American Legion Legacy Run. 

The group, which includes Roger Norfolk, formerly of Palmyra, will present a check for $1,070 to American Legion National Commander Bill Oxford that they raised for the American Legion Legacy Scholarship, which provides college funds for the children of disabled veterans and military personnel who lost their lives on active duty on or after 9/11.

Since its inception in 2002, over $15 million has been donated to the scholarship fund, due largely to the efforts of The American Legion Riders who contribute significantly on an annual basis through the annual American Legion Legacy Run, but the entire American Legion Family; the members of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion Riders work together for this success. 

They also support numerous other national, state, and local programs and charities for veterans, military families and communities. 

“Supporting our local community is at the core of who we are as a motorcycle association,” said Iowa Past State Commander Mike Etzel who also is from Post 298 an American Legion Riders Chapter 298 in Marion. 

“We believe in taking care of the families of the fallen, those injured in service to this country, and we must support our local communities.”

This year the American Legion Legacy Run starts Aug. 22 in Rogers, Arkansas and will travel over 1,300 miles through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona ending in Phoenix, Ariz. Aug. 26, where the American Legion is conducting its 102nd National Convention during the week of Aug. 27 through Sept. 2.

The American Legion Legacy Scholarship is a needs-based scholarship designed to fulfill a financial gap remaining after all federal and state educational grants/scholarships available to an eligible applicant have been utilized.

Those eligible for the scholarship include children of U.S. military members who died while on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001 are eligible for the scholarship and children of post-9/11 veterans having been assigned a combined disability rating of 50 percent or greater by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Each needs-based scholarship provides up to $20,000 in aid for undergraduate or post-graduate college. Recipients may reapply for additional annual awards up to six times.

Norfolk, the son of Bill Norfolk, for whom Norfolk-Smith VFW Post 11041 is named, is riding with the group, which plans to make a stop in Palmyra Friday morning.