Tour of Honor motorcyclists to visit The Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial at College of the Ozarks

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — Tour of Honor (TOH) motorcyclists will visit The Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial at College of the Ozarks from April 1 to October 31, 2023. The Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial was selected because it corresponds with the theme of this year’s tour: the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Vietnam War.

Tour of Honor was established in 2010 by brothers Steve and Dave Brooks to provide motorcyclists with a way to celebrate their love of riding while celebrating their country.

“The mission is to honor American heroes — mostly military Veterans but also First Responders — by visiting sites paying tribute to them,” said Steve Brooks, co-founder of Tour of Honor. “The ride raises money for three charities: Fisher House Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation’s Outreach Program for First Responders, and the Gold Star Family Foundation.”

There are roughly 1,000-1,200 participants in TOH annually, and between four and seven memorials are selected per state, including Alaska and Hawaii, to act as participating sites. At each participating site, riders will take a photo of themselves and the memorial to submit to TOH to receive a certificate or trophy for visiting the memorials.

The Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located in Patriots Park and acts as a symbolic reminder of the bravery of those who served in the Vietnam War. Two separate walls hold the 1,410 names of the Missourians who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving overseas. In between the two walls stands a statue of Vietnam Veterans, representing those who served in Vietnam and returned home to live the rest of their lives with memories of war. A flower bed in the shape of the letter “V” for valor displays a bed of red flowers, representing the blood shed by servicemen and women. The memorial was designed by Austin Meyer, a 2014 College of the Ozarks graduate.

Local businesses — including Vintage Paris, Revive Juice and Coffee Bar, Parlor Doughnuts, and Mr. Gilberti’s Place — will provide special offerings to Riders from April 1-October 31.

For more information about TOH, visit:  https://tourofhonor.com/index.html.