Veteran's Thunder Motorcycle Ride rolls into town Saturday

Veteran's Thunder Motorcycle Ride rolls into town Saturday

By Gary Nelson / gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com

Everyone needs a hero.

For one Vietnam veteran that hero is Ron Dyer, president and founding member of the Cumberland County Vietnam Veterans chapter.

"I'm not ashamed to tell you this man is my hero. With what he did, getting the Welcome Home (event) together — I will never forget it — He saved my life," Larry Bates of Monterey said.

Bates, who is nicknamed "Tin Man" due to the leg braces and crutches he is forced to wear, says the Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home event in 2008 and earlier this year gave him a reason to want to live.

"I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and have been fighting cancer. I was in a wheelchair, but I've gotten better, I've gotten on the crutches and it's because of this," he said as he put his arm around Dyer's neck.

Bates met Dyer at the Waffle House in Crossville a few years ago.

"I overheard these guys, Vietnam vets, talking about organizing this event. I went up to him and I said, 'I want to be a part of it, whatever you're planning,'" Bates said.

Bates and Dyer became friends and the group of vets soon began affectionately calling Bates the Tin Man.
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