#61: Specialist Joshua Walker, Army Veteran of Kenosha, WI

After 9/11, and at age 24, Joshua Walker joined the Army National Guard, worked as a welder in construction and hoped for his chance to deploy. In 2004 Josh arrived on a rudimentary base in Iraq: a country and a war that was nothing like what they had trained for. One day an IED detonated under his Humvee, splitting the vehicle in half and sending his half rolling down an embankment to land upside down in the filthy canal water. Josh and his gunner were able to climb out and were assisted back to base. A quick check showed no obvious injuries, and Josh returned to duty the next day. The quick check also meant no diagnosis, nor did any paperwork follow. And the rest of his deployment, filled with more explosives, gunfire and traumatic incidents, remains a blur to him to this day. Josh returned home a completely different man and to face a barrage of domestic battles… and he fell apart. After several emergency admissions, he went through a Medical Review Board that diagnosed him with PTSD and forced retirement. His struggles further affected his neuropsychological, cognitive and occupational functioning; and as his mind shut down, he found himself with seizures and unable to care for himself. After several inpatient admissions, he spent eight long years on a course that included VA group home living, speech and occupational therapy, and a multitude of PTSD programming, counseling and life management training to return some semblance of who he once was. It would take those same eight years before his short-term memory deficits would be attributed to a TBI from his IED incident ten years prior, finally validating his struggles as more than just psychological. As he learned to live independently again, Josh returned to motorcycling after regaining his endorsement. He bought an H-D Ultra, joined the CVMA and rode four years before a patch of gravel totaled his bike. He then bought a 20 year old H-D trike conversion, and after a few months the axle broke while riding, rendering it beyond repair. Josh is not in a financial position to purchase another; and Hogs For Heroes believed returning Josh to the road would support his ongoing healing.

#60: Staff Sergeant Tiffany Gorges, Army Veteran of Madison, WI

Staff Sergeant Tiffany Gorges joined the Army National Guard in May 2001. She was quickly activated to Fort Bragg for a year where she excelled, bought her first motorcycle, and earned a position in Airborne School. Tiffany loved everything about the military, including the trust and brotherhood. One day a “Brother" asked for her help and, while traveling together, he sexually assaulted her. Fearful and confused, she hid the ugly truth and built a foundation from which her PTSD grew. Months later Tiffany deployed with a Heavy Transport Company and in October, 2004, landed in Iraq for 17 months. She drove massive trucks in convoys, manned 50-cal turrets and was a Combat Lifesaver. She concealed her physical pains and mentally pushed the daily near-misses, violent death toll and horrific injuries she tended to, far back in her mind to stay focused. She returned stateside and hid everything behind a private mask, using her bike for release and drinking excessively to dilute the past. Six years later, the Staff Sergeant deployed to Afghanistan running gun trucks and leading others for a year. Once home, she again buried everything and was quickly engulfed in a sea of rage, acting out and drinking even more to temper her demons. It would be four years later, in the wake of more bad choices and lost relationships, that she finally sought care. And when the Army found out about her struggles with PTSD and the physical limitations of her injuries, a Medical Review Board granted retirement at 20 years of service. Tiffany has courageously moved miles in therapy, but regaining miles on the trike she needs isn’t a financial possibility. Hogs For Heroes believed our gift could help her stay on the healing path she’s created for herself.  Tiffany’s trike was fully sponsored by Dane County's Fire Fighters Local 311 and the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin after two golf outings for us. She received her keys on August 2, 2025 at Harley-Davidson of Madison, her hometown dealership where she found her love, "Bruce". 

#59: Corporal Jimmy Rehme, Marine Veteran of Clintonville, WI

Jimmy was a freshman when 9/11 occurred and he vowed then to join the fight. After graduating from Hortonville High School in June, 2004, he left that very same day for Basic Training. The Infantryman specialized as a Mortarman, and six months later landed in Afghanistan. For 7 months Jimmy assisted in patrol and assault efforts within the mountainous terrain. He returned stateside and began training for deployment to Iraq just a mere eight months later. For six months he ran patrols in the IED laden Triangle of Death to disrupt terrorist placement of IEDs. One month in country and Jimmy’s vehicle hit an IED, leaving him with a TBI, hearing loss and asthma. Once cleared he was back out on those same patrol routes, and pushing away the PTSD demons to stay focused on his job. Jimmy knew he was struggling with the violence, his demons and the loss of so many Brothers; and he decided to separate at his contract’s end, narrowly missing his Battalion’s return to Iraq.  Jimmy returned to WI, found a job and started saving for the Harley he’d dreamt of. And, he pushed away all the demons stirring within to build and provide for his family. It wasn't until he was going through a divorce and losing time with his three girls did depression set in and bring his demons from 20 years ago to the forefront. Jimmy turned to motorcycling for the release it once provided him; unfortunately the old bike he had grew more unreliable and threatened his ability to stay on the road and reconnect as he did. That’s where we came in. Jimmy’s bike was the third of three Harleys this summer to have been fully sponsored by last year’s fundraising by the IUOE Local 139, and he received his keys on July 19, 2025 during Local 139 Family Picnic for their membership to see first hand what their efforts support.

#58: Staff Sergeant Brett Peterson, Marine Veteran of Thiensville, WI

Brett Peterson of Thiensville, WI was born and raised in Slinger, WI. After childhood tragedy and a rough path as a young adult, Brett joined the Marines in 2004 for redirection and the chance to serve and protect others. The Infantryman specialized as an Amphibious Assault Vehicle Crewman; and on his first MEU deployment, spent everyday thinking he was heading to war in Iraq. Instead, he moved into the Philippine jungles to support their military in operations against Al Qaida. Brett returned, trained up and deployed to Iraq in 2006 for six months in one of the war’s most violent and deadliest time periods as a Squad Leader on over 150 patrol/combat missions.  Despite the PTSD and TBI symptoms already showing themselves, he re-enlisted, successfully moved through three years of recruitment duty, then deployed to Afghanistan for a year working with the Afghan National Security Forces. The volatile and duplicitous nature of the position worsened his mental health struggles; and upon returning, he chose to separate from service. Brett bought his first motorcycle after returning from Iraq and rode hard through the next seven years until he lost his job during Covid...then lost his truck and Harley when his loans defaulted. Brett has determinedly worked to manage and push through the PTSD and TBI struggles he deals with daily; but the one tool he’s been missing and unable to regain has been a motorcycle. In a funny twist, Brett had been walking his dog past Suburban Motors H-D, wishing hard for the gorgeous 2024 Street Glide Special sitting out front. Hogs For Heroes thought Brett's "someday dream" should be now; and the day after we met him, we made his wish come true. Unique to Brett’s bike, it has been fully sponsored by the 2024 fundraising efforts of Tavern League of Wisconsin members across the state. Brett received his keys on July 13, 2025.

#57: First Lieutenant Dan Rigney, Army Veteran of Mosinee, WI

Dan Rigney spent his first 15 years in the Army National Guard as a Cannon Crewmember, and per his words “wasn’t much of a soldier”. It wasn’t until he was mobilized to England in 2003 that he first understood what it meant to be a soldier…and he wanted more. After being challenged by another, he applied to the Army’s Officer Candidate School, at age 33. He took his commission with WI Prairie du Chien 229th Engineer Company and shortly after was involuntary deployed to Iraq to fill a leadership vacancy. While in Iraq he learned his organic unit, the 229th, would be deployed to Afghanistan for a year, and he volunteered to go as their Platoon Leader with no real insight yet into just how large a toll Iraq would take on his mental health.  Dan returned stateside, jumped back into civilian and work life, and began preparations for Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, his crew worked to build combat trails for Infantry access in dangerous, high insurgent areas, and the toll taken was hard. Frustrated with leadership politics and behavior, Dan retired just eight months after returning and in 2015, with a total of 24 years in service, began a dark, spiral downward. He’s worked hard to move forward, but after selling his bike to pay off his debt, he's been borrowing bikes for the therapeutic release and camaraderie it offers him. We thought it time he have his own bike to continue moving forward.  Dan found his 2023 Road Glide Special at Suburban Motors H-D in Thiensville, WI and received his keys in a double gifting ceremony with Recipient #56, both sponsored by the generous fundraising efforts of the Operating Engineers Local 139. Dan rode that sweet bike home on June 28, 2025.

#56: Petty Officer First Class Johnathan Opperman, Navy Veteran of Waupun, WI

Johnathan Oppermann turned his love of shop classes, and desire to defend, into a Navy Engineman position right after high school, far advancing in rank and expertise during his nine years with them.  He also turned his childhood dirt bike into a passion for riding. While on board ship in 2020, after his crew finished hand-rigging lines to lower a life raft capsule, Johnathan stood a deck below guiding the 400 lb item when the lines snapped. Pinned below the capsule, he was left bracing its weight against the bulkhead for fear its impact could open the raft on ship. He heard and felt the pop in his back, along with immediate pain; and by the next day he was unable to get out of his chair. He had herniated three discs, and two surgeries within the next six months did little to ease the pain and radiculopathy to his legs he still deals with today. Johnathan was moved into a desk position, away from engine mechanics, and into a Medical Review Board that decided to remove him from the Navy. He’d lost his world and future and fell into both a painful depression and unemployment. With full custody placement of his daughter, there is not room in their family budget to get a bike and the wind therapy he misses. We thought it time a positive break land his way. Johnathan chose a 2024 Street Glide in Whiskey Fire from Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson in Thiensville, WI. His gorgeous bike was fully sponsored by the 2024 fundraising efforts of Wisconsin’s Operating Engineers Local 139, and he received his keys on June, 28, 2025 at 4:30 pm following the Operating Engineers 8th Annual Poker Run benefitting Hogs For Heroes.  

#54: Staff Sergeant Clifford Williams, Army Veteran of Black Creek, WI

Cliff Williams joined the Infantry for the combat action and distinction of becoming a Calvary Scout. In 2007 Cliff received the deployment orders he was hoping for and spent 15 months in Afghanistan’s southern region, working as “the eyes and ears” of the commander on the battlefield. His tour required he live out of a truck or rucksack on reconnaissance missions and security operations, with an occasional rotation to his Outpost. While manning a guard tower at his Outpost, he saw the orange streak move across the sky and lost consciousness upon impact on his tower. An unconscious Cliff was dug out from the rubble, medevaced to a base without diagnostic equipment and told he had a TBI. After ten days of bedrest, he went back out for another ten months of intense combat action and rough living. The attack’s injury would earn him a Purple Heart; and the resulting TBI and PTSD would leave him with a lifetime of struggle. Cliff had been riding since he was 18 for the adrenaline fix and to clear his head; and without the ability to ride the last three years, his mental health has struggled. We were glad for the chance to reconnect this rider with his healing passion and a stand-out 2024 Road Glide Special in Whiskey Fire from Doc’s Harley-Davidson in Bonduel, WI. Cliff received his keys on May 24, 2025.