WASHINGTON — This weekend, inside the D.C. National Guard Armory in Southeast, you won’t be seeing military vehicles. Instead, you’ll be seeing classic cars, custom cars, muscle cars and street rods.
It’s the 6th annual Military Benefit Car Show, which is put on by the D.C. National Guard and the Unity Thunder Car Club. The proceeds from the show benefit military members, vets and their families.
Ron Pemberton is with the Unity Thunder Car Club. The club, which is based out of Camp Springs, does numerous fundraising events each year, but this is its signature event.
“The vehicles here are from 1923 all the way up to 1971. You can see the labor of love they put into these vehicles,” says Pemberton. “We work with Operation Homefront as the fundraising end,” he added.
Operation Homefront, a non-profit group, helps provide emergency assistance to military members and their families, as well as wounded warriors.
Chief Master Sgt. Reginald Edwards, Senior Enlisted Leader, D.C. National Guard, says, “Lots of the proceeds are going to Operation Homefront.”
This year’s car show commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, and is honoring those veterans who served. Lynn Hudson, a combat Vietnam veteran, was showing off his 1962 Chevy Impala Saturday at the car show.
“It’s Matador Red with a tobacco brown leather interior with a 350 motor. It’s been completely rebuilt from the ground all the way up,” Hudson says.
He admits it’s a nice change that people are thanking the Vietnam veterans for their service now. But, he says, it’s taken a few generations.
“It’s amazing that a lot of us are still alive,” Hudson says.
This year’s car show is hosting a “Welcome Home” for veterans past, present and future. Many of the Unity Thunder Car Club members are Vietnam vets, so they want to make sure veterans returning from war get that welcome they didn’t receive.
The show runs through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
