Patriot Guard Holds Tulsa Blood Drive Tuesday

The Patriot Guard Riders of Oklahoma are sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Tulsa. It will be held at the Transport Workers Union Hall, 11945 East Pine Street.

The drive is open to the public and is an opportunity to show support for the U.S. Armed Forces, according to Patriot Guard member Mike "Bear" Messick.

"One of the initiatives the Red Cross showed us was about getting veterans more involved," said Messick, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Army.

"This is just a start. Hopefully we'll have a successful blood drive."

Patriot Guard members will be on hand grilling hamburgers and cheeseburgers for donors. Donors will also get a free T-shirt and a chance to win a Gibson guitar.

Messick and fellow veterans and riders Chris Gibson and Tommy Johnson hope to begin having blood drives every few months to challenge veterans and others to donate blood.

The Red Cross serves 1.4 million active duty military members, according to a news release. While a donation may not go directly to someone overseas, it could help save the life of one of their 3 million family members back home.

It could also help one of the 800,000 reservists and U.S. Army National Guard members awaiting assignments or one of the 24 million veterans, the release states. 

The riders named the upcoming blood drive "Heroes on the Homefront."