LAKE LINDEN - The motorcyclists of Chapter 2 of the Forgotten Eagles roared into Lake Linden early Wednesday evening.

They had cruised from Houghton to Lake Linden with a police escort, wrapping up a long day on the road that started in Sault Ste. Marie.

By the end of the day Friday, Michigan's five Forgotten Eagles chapters will have collectively cruised through every county in Michigan.

"Every county in the state gets ridden through in three days," Forgotten Eagles Chapter 2 President Al Utzman said Wednesday. "They started (Wednesday) morning at like 7 o'clock in the morning in Sault Ste. Marie."

Chapter 2's membership comes from the western Upper Peninsula. Each of the five Forgotten Eagles chapters is riding through counties in its own part of the state. The overall effort is called the Fifth Annual RAM Ride, with RAM standing for Ride Around Michigan.

RAM Ride is a fundraiser for the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund.

"The Forgotten Eagles are the largest contributor to the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund since its inception," Utzman said. "To date we've put over $50,000 into the coffers there since 2001."

The trust fund was set up for wartime veterans to offer emergency financial assistance.

"They could get help with any type of emergency - medical, travel, if you're losing your house they'll give you an emergency grant to help you keep it, basic living expenses," Utzman said. "If you're a wartime vet you can get help through it."

The trust fund is administered through county veterans affairs offices.

Forgotten Eagles is a non-profit veterans support group, an all-Michigan organization.

The RAM Ride is one of several fundraising events the group holds every year.

The organizations other fundraisers are targeted at helping vets at the local level, whereas the RAM Ride benefits veterans statewide.

Tom Light of Ossineke in the Lower Peninsula is a Vietnam veteran who has ridden in four RAM Rides, including the one ongoing. He is a member of the Forgotten Eagles.

"I believe in them, I believe in what they do," he said.

Looking at the road ahead he said "I guess we're going to keep on going, we've got a long ride."

Utzman said Forgotten Eagles is "all volunteers. You don't have to be a veteran to join as long as you're willing to donate your time and effort."

Anyone interested in volunteering with Forgotten Eagles can call Utzman at 337-5204.

Forgotten Eagles has a total membership of more than 300 statewide.

All five chapters will meet up Friday in the Lower Peninsula's Houghton Lake and ride to Mount Pleasant.

Dan Schneider can be reached at dschneider@mininggazette.com