Bikers gearing up to aid wounded Marine

Bikers gearing up to aid wounded Marine
by Staff Report

ARARAT, Va. — The hollows of this southwestern Patrick County community are expected to echo the sounds of motorcycles Saturday when members of various groups ride in support of a wounded local Marine.

The event to benefit Cpl. Joshua B. Kerns of Ararat will be held as part of the second-annual Ararat Heritage and Music Jamboree. It will feature a 10 a.m. parade through Ararat and a daylong slate of music and other activities at Dan River Park.

Roger Hayden, a member of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors representing that community and an avid motorcyclist, has organized the benefit ride.

Kerns, a 2008 graduate of Patrick County High School, was injured by the IED on April 7 during his third deployment to Afghanistan. He has lost both legs below the knees and his right arm below the elbow. The Marine is now hospitalized in Bethesda, Md.

His parents have faced travel, lost work and other expenses as a result of the situation, and once Kerns returns home alterations will be needed to make the family’s house handicapped-accessible. At last report, more than $40,000 had been generated, with additional fund-raising activities to come.

Read more: Mount Airy News -
Bikers gearing up to aid wounded Marine