Roughly 60 motorcycle riders from the Oregon Veterans Motorcycle Association rolled through John Day Sunday to honor prisoners of war and service members missing in action.

At the same time, the Grant County Chamber of Commerce dedicated its flagpole to POWs and MIAs as community members lined the streets with flags to honor them.

Larry Moyer, president of the Central Oregon Chapter of the VMA and a Persian Gulf War veteran, said the group has focused on raising money for other veteran causes. This ranged from purchasing a home in Central Oregon for returning veterans to serve as transitional housing to providing financial assistance to veterans in distress.

“Every member here today is a member that started out being one of those people,” he said.

Moyer said people often ask him what the group does, and he wanted to explain to the audience what they do.

The group also recognized the Grant County Chamber of Commerce and Elks Lodge members Charlie Caughlin and Bob Van Voorhis for their service to the community.

Moyer also read from former POW Oscar “Whitey” Lent’s letters from when he was held captive on Wake Island during World War II. Lent, a longtime John Day resident and business owner who passed away in 1982, was one of over 1,000 civilian contractors taken prisoner in December 1941, when Japanese troops overran Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean.

“This is why we do this,” Moyer said while holding back tears.

The group honored Leslie Traylor, Lent’s daughter.