Veterans and Bikers Honor U.S. Troops in Islandia

The Village of Islandia held its third annual Motorcycle Poker Run to benefit Jacob’s Light Foundation on May 5.

Mayor Allan M. Dorman, a Vietnam War veteran, spoke at the event, which concluded at the law office of Rappaport Glass Levine & Zullo LLP in Islandia on May 5.

Approximately 300 bikers, many of them veterans themselves, took part in this event, which was presented by Michael “Motorcycle Mike” Levine, Esq., one of the law firm’s partners. Dorman met with other veterans and Dorine Kenney, a Gold Star Mother and Founder/Executive Director, Jacob’s Light Foundation. He later addressed the crowd as he spoke of his time when he was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps and fought during the Vietnam War.

Jacob’s Light Foundation sends out care packages to troops serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. The packages first go to those who do not receive mail from home; the organization also cares for soldiers whose families cannot afford to send a care package and sends boxes to those who are stationed in the most remote war zones and do not have access to basic amenities such as toothpaste and deodorant.

The organization is named for U.S. Army Specialist Jacob Fletcher, Kenney’s son. He served as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and was one of the 1,000 paratroopers to make the historic jump into Iraq on March 26, 2003. On Nov. 14, 2003 — less than two weeks before his 29th birthday — Specialist Fletcher was killed by a roadside bomb in the Iraqi city of Samarra.