Motorcycle stunt group dazzles crowd in salute to Armed Forces Day

A stunt driver with the St. Louis Shockers cycle stunt group pops a wheelie at an Armed Forces Celebration earlier this month in Jackson.

JACKSON, Mo -- More than 120 area residents were wowed while watching a St. Louis-based motorcycle stunt group celebrate Armed Forces Day on May 16, during an event sponsored by Sappington Pro Outdoor at the Missouri Army National Guard.

Riders for the St. Louis Shockers performed dazzling stunts before a large crowd -- popping wheelies, doing doughnuts, standing on the seats of their fast-moving motorcycles, and garnering applause, "oohs" and "aahs" from an appreciative crowd.

The idea was the brainchild of Steve Sappington of Sappington Pro Outdoor.

"We wanted to do something for Armed Forces Day and obviously we thought this would be a cool idea," he said. "My Grandpa and Grandma were in the military and we have a lot of friends in the military. We wanted to do something to recognize them."

This is the first year for such an event, but Sappington said they plan to make it annual.

"We think it would be real special to do something like this every year," he said. "We want our customers to know we appreciate the Armed Forces and wanted to do something like this to show it."

Sgt. First Class Byron Wilkerson, a recruiter from Jackson, got the Guard involved by getting some fliers to promote the event.

"We wanted to be involved in any way when we learned Sappington wanted to promote Armed Forces Day," Wilkerson said. "It helps our community relations and it promotes the military and honors those who serve. How could we not participate in something like that?"

President Harry Truman, himself a Missouri National Guardsman who served in World War I, led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank U.S. military members for patriotic service in support of our country. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

-30-

For more information about this release, please contact Scott Moyers at 573-339-6237 or at scott.moyers1@us.army.mil.