U.S. Navy veteran who pilots The Spirit pulls up at Warriors’ Weekend

Jon Osburn has pulled OOIDA’s tour trailer, The Spirit of the American Trucker, into the midst of activities for Warriors’ Weekend XII in Port O’Connor, Texas.

The Spirit is scheduled to be there May 17-19.

Port O’Connor is between Galveston and Corpus Christi on the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The mission of the Warriors’ Weekend program is to provide a weekend of rest, relaxation and fun for those wounded heroes, and their spouses and families, who are stationed at military medical centers recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Spirit is already on site. It is parked next to the Field of Heroes, which has 7,000 flags waving in recognition of military service men and women who have fallen since Sept. 11, 2001.

There is a 7,000-flag salute erected at Port O’Connor, Texas, in recognition of the military men and women who have died protecting the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001.

Jon said he is happy to be there to salute other U.S. military veterans, like himself. He had a decorated military career in the U.S. Navy, including three tours of duty as a combat medic in Vietnam. Then he was a civilian paramedic before transitioning to trucking in the 1980s.

The organizers of Warriors’ Weekend pay airfare for veterans and their family or caregivers to attend the weekend. The program also pays for hotel, food and for events for them. Warriors’ Weekend puts together on average seven weekend trips each year.
The community around Port O’Connor have really backed the program and its support of U.S. military veterans, Jon said.

Warriors’ Weekend is a great program that helps these veterans in their recovery process and has brightened lives for them and their families, Jon said.

“Am I stoked? Oh, yeah,” Jon said. “This is now in the top five things I’ve done in my life.”

Jon says he hopes to meet some of the service men and women who have received Truckers for Troops care packages while he’s at Warriors’ Weekend.

OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops is a program that sends care packages to service personnel in combat zones. OOIDA membership is discounted plus 10 percent of all proceeds is contributed to the Truckers for Troops program and that amount is matched by OOIDA. The campaign starts in November.

After Warriors’ Weekend, The Spirit will head to Greenwood, La., which is just across the border from Texas and 15 miles west of Shreveport, La. The Spirit is scheduled to be there May 22-24.

Whenever you see The Spirit tour truck, go say hello to Jon. He enjoys visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. You also can join or renew your OOIDA membership for $10 off the regular price there. Also, you can get vouchers for flu, shingles and pneumonia vaccines from Jon at The Spirit.