By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
The motorcycle rider is arriving at the Arctic Circle. He made this grueling trip to raise awareness of the tragic epidemic of veteran suicide.
It’s estimated that 22 veterans take their own lives every day in the U.S. Now this rural Kansas rider is raising funds in support of veterans.
James Greer is the founder and CEO of Ride for Veterans. Greer grew up in Arkansas and joined the Army. He served five years during Operation Desert Storm and rose through the ranks to become a specialist and platoon leader.
After deployment, he returned to Fort Riley where he met his wife. They settled in nearby Leonardville to raise a family.
“I purposely wanted to raise my kids in Riley County schools where my wife had gone to school,” Greer said. Greer went on to a career in law enforcement where he has worked since 2003.
One day in 2021, Greer’s wife called his attention to a disturbing statistic she had read in one of his magazines. The article said that, on average, 22 veterans commit suicide every day.
This fact hit home. “It was a profound moment,” Greer said. “It changed everything.”
The article went on to say that 65% of those veterans were over the age of 50. “That hit even harder,” Greer said. “Those were the guys I served with.”
He tried to think of a way to call attention to this terrible situation. Greer decided to try to ride his bike to the Arctic Circle in 22 days, one day per suicide. He bought an Enduro dirt bike and made the trip in 18-and-a-half days, camping in a tent along the way. His ride was even featured on the Discovery Channel.
This led to the creation of the organization known as Ride for Veterans, which sponsors an annual long distance trip to build awareness and raise charitable funds for those who served.
“I’m no longer alone in this mission, which is fitting because we don’t want any veteran out there to feel alone either,” Greer said. Most riders on the trip go by motorcycle.
“In a car, you’re insulated from the elements,” Greer said. “On a motorcycle, though, you’re in touch with the country that you fought for: The smells, the wind, the heat, the cold. The rain hitting your skin at 65 miles an hour is like millions of BBs pelleting you.”
“That is why I chose to do it on a motorcycle,” Greer said. “It is meant to be hard. It is meant to be a sacrifice.”
Other riders join him in these motorcades. Riders pay their own expenses to participate. In 2024, the ride took place along the Medal of Honor Highway. In 2025, the journey followed a southern route to veterans homes, presenting checks long the way. In 2026, they plan to visit more than 1800 veterans.
“All of the donations go directly to benefit veterans,” Greer said. “In Wisconsin, we donated to outdoor therapy programs such as fishing and kayaking. In Washington state and Oregon, we donated to therapy programs involving horseback riding and gardening. In Wyoming our donations were used to make a veteran’s memorial park handicapped-accessible for people living with disabilities.”
“We gave money that was used toward a massive site that replicates the national war memorials in Washington DC, making a gratitude of a nation more tangible to veterans who wouldn’t otherwise be able to travel to the east coast. In Kansas, we even donated to a combat veteran whose children developed a rare medical disorder and launched that veteran into financial peril.”
This remarkable organization began with an inspired journey to the Arctic Circle, all the way from the rural community of Leonardville, Kansas, population 432 people. Now, that’s rural.
For more information, see www.rideforveterans.com.
It’s time to leave the Arctic Circle where this remarkable combat veteran made his inaugural ride to raise awareness of veteran suicide. We commend James Greer for making a difference with this approach to raising awareness. What a ride.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at https://www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
