26-05-2025
11th annual Thunder on the Missouri rides on
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Nebraska (KCAU) – Hundreds of motorcyclists drove through Sergeant Bluff and into South Sioux City to honor those who gave their life for their country.
For the past 11 years, folks from all over Siouxland and further have attended Thunder on the Missouri, and while many folks have attended for years, one person said he found out about the honor ride last minute.
The honor ride starts at the Sergeant Bluff Community Center and eventually ends at Siouxland Freedom Park in South Sioux City, Nebraska. And after a quick Thunder salute, roughly 200 people attended a short ceremony honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
'There's a lot of people that don't come here, they'll show up at the Freedom Park and watch the ceremony over there and watch the bikes coming in. Just being in the park is the biggest thing for us. You know, we want to make sure that we honor and remember those veterans,' said Marty Hogan, the director of Thunder on the Missouri.
Chris Hickey recently got himself a motorcycle and heard about Thunder on the Missouri the day of the event.
'Just found out the event was actually going on about 20 minutes before I woke up, and I was like trying to get ready and get down here as quickly as I could because I thought the event left at noon,' said Chris Hickey, 1st year attending Thunder on the Missouri.
Hickey said he wanted to honor those who died for their country.
'My dad's a disabled veteran, my grandpa was a disabled veteran from the Navy, my grandma was a nurse in the Navy way back when both of them have passed on. My buddy over there is a wounded warrior, did 22 years, and so it's just a good way to pay homage to both those that I've known and lost and those that other people have known who lost,' said Hickey.
Hogan says he appreciates folks taking time out their day to ride, especially the younger kids.
'For us, it's like keeping their memory alive, not letting them be forgotten, the other thing is a small piece of it's education for our younger people. If this drives a question, you know, why are these guys doing this? Hopefully their parents or someone around them can answer it, if they can't they can reach out to us and we'll certainly tell them,' said Hogan.
Officials encourage folks to come on out to the honor ride next year even if you don't own a motorcycle.
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