Multi-faceted event will support veterans

David Thomas, a member of the Florida Military Vehicle Heritage Group, stands between his World War II-era 1943 Ford GPW Jeep and 1955 M38A1 Jeep on May 6, 2024, at his home in Ocklawaha. The Jeeps will be displayed with about a dozen other military vehicles and an expected host of collectible cars at the Cars, Coffee and Cigars with Warrior Wheels Festival on May 18, 2024, at The Villages Polo Grounds. [Photo by Andy Fillmore]

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Posted May 7, 2024 | By Andy Fillmore, andy@ocalagazette.com

The Warrior Wheels Foundation of Ocala is teaming up with Villagers for Veterans and Soldier Girl Coffee Company for a Cars, Coffee and Cigars with Warrior Wheels Festival on May 18 at The Villages Polo Grounds to benefit area veteran causes.

The event, hosted by Soldier Girl Coffee Company, a female veteran owned business supporting veterans, will feature a color guard by Tri-County Women Veterans, food and vendors, and collectible golf carts.

The 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. festival will feature a Salute Our Troops Concert with entertainers including The Resilient, a rock band with three of five members who are wounded veterans. The members of the band vocalize about their military experiences while offering a “universal message” about resiliency, according to a contact for the band. The group has members from across the country but is centered in Pennsylvania and has a focus on performing shows to support veterans.

Other entertainers scheduled are Emma Forgette, Khloe Grace, J Alan Six and Chris McNeil.

A collectible car and military vehicle show will include members of the Florida Military Vehicle Heritage Group, an affiliate of the nationwide Military Vehicle Preservation Association, and will run from noon to 4 p.m.

Pam Kelly, a 22-year plus U.A. Army veteran, will be on hand at the festival in her role as an ambassador for the Villages for Veterans group. Kelly was crushed by equipment while deployed in 2002 to Iraq and suffered injuries causing her the loss of use of all four limbs. Villages for Veterans built her a “smart house” that has supportive devices such as voice activated doors.

The event is being held to support the Villagers for Veterans’ project, Ashley’s House Transitional Home for Female Veterans in Eustis, which is named in honor of Lt. Ashley White Stumpf, who was killed in Afghanistan. The benefit will also seek donations of, or towards, a vehicle for the Warrior Wheels Foundation organization.

Jason White, president of the Warrior Wheels Foundation, said the organization has given about 12 vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, to area veterans in need of transportation, including U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rex Seaton of Citra.

Seaton, 27, said he had no vehicle when he was given the used but “pristine” condition 2001 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle. He has since continued to build his video production company, Non-Science Productions and work on his nonprofit Vets on Sets.

The recipient of the next vehicle has not yet been named, but evidently is resident of The Villages area.

David Thomas of Ocklawaha, in east Marion County, will display his two meticulously restored Jeeps from two service eras and his unusual British manufactured 1943 M20, a 500-cc single cylinder BSA motorcycle, which was used by the U.S. Army in World War II. Thomas obtained the military motorcycle from a museum in Miami about a year ago and did a complete restoration. The cycle is displayed with military gear, including a period rifle and helmet.

The World War II era Jeep is a 1943 Ford GPW one-quarter ton vehicle that saw service in the war and was left in Europe and used by the French government. It was returned to the U.S. in 1977. The GPW has a metal pole attached to the center of the front that was added to cut wire strung across roads by enemy forces. The WWII slogan “Kilroy was here” is painted on the body. Thomas’ second Jeep is a model M38A1 and was manufactured in 1955 and saw service through the Vietnam War and later was used at Elgin Air Force Base.

Rick Babb of Sebring will have his Fire Chief Jet Monster Ride Fire Truck on static display. The vintage open-cab type Seagrave fire truck has 66-inch diameter by 36-inch-wide tires and a jet engine mounted in the back, which can be used to burn objects in shows.

White, 38, a native of Connecticut, moved to Ocala during his third year of high school and graduated from Vanguard High School.

White, who served 10 years in the Marine Corps, is a combat veteran who was diagnosed with post traumatic distress disorder and worked with the Birdwell Foundation, a nonprofit support organization for veterans and first responders with a focus on PTSD and suicide prevention.

White stated he started Warrior Wheels “after a fellow veteran committed suicide.”

If you go:
Warrior Wheels Festival at Cars, Coffee and Cigars, May 18
700 Buena Vista Blvd., The Villages
Event entry: $5 (receive one free 50/50 raffle ticket); free for veterans, first responders and those age 16 and under
To learn more, go to mywarriorwheels.com