NORWICH – Local American Legionnaires will be taking to the open road this Saturday to help wounded combat veterans who are recovering far away from the comforts of home.

To raise money for the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project, May 5 the Legion Riders from Warren E. Eaton Post 189 in Norwich are holding their second Annual Benefit “Poker Run,” an 80 mile motorcycle ride through Chenango County.

“We’re trying to give something back to the guys who have given all,” said event organizer and Legion Rider Bill Fowler. “Anything that will make their lives a little bit easier.”

Landstuhl Hospital is a U.S. Military Treatment Facility in Germany where many injured servicemen and servicewomen are taken directly from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since most wounded veterans arrive with only the hospital garments they have on, the care project, started in 2004 by a military mother who visited the hospital, provides comfortable clothing, basic supplies and numerous items aimed at improving a soldier’s quality of life while they heal.

“Many of these brave individuals arrive at Landstuhl directly from the battlefield – no clothing, no shoes, and definitely no comfort or hygiene items,” said Legion Rider’s President Paul Russo.