U.S. Army Chris Coakley and U.S. Air Force Vet Stephen O’Donnell ~ HEROES IN OUR MIDST, VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH

By: John Cuddy – April, 2021

Dracut American Legion Executive Board Members US Army Veteran Chris “Scrubs” Coakley and US Air Force Veteran Stephen “Professor” O’Donnell are both also members of a patriotic motorcycle group known as the Nam Knights.

During the summer of 1989, a small group of Harley Davidson riders, who were also veterans of the Viet Nam war and sworn police officers, formed the original chapter of the Nam Knights.

The Club was founded in New Jersey by Jack Quigley, now a retired undersheriff with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. He had served as a platoon sergeant with the 11th Motor Transport Battalion, First Marine Division. Today the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club has grown into an organization with 69 chapters in sixteen states, Washington D.C. and two Canadian provinces. The group has hundreds of members, consisting of veterans of all eras as well as law enforcement personnel.

From the Fraternal…