Veteran group visits restaurant over NFL protest

A group of combat veterans from all corners of Southern California rode their motorcycles to Vincenzo’s Pizza Saugus on Sunday to show their support for the restaurant’s decision to cancel its NFL Sunday Ticket coverage.

More than 30 members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association attended the meet up, many of whom could be seen proudly displaying their motorcycles in the restaurant’s parking lot on Plum Canyon and Bouquet Canyon Road.

The veterans held a brief ceremony in which they took a moment of silence for those killed in last weekend’s Las Vegas shooting as well as for the four American soldiers killed in an ambush in the West African country of Niger on Friday.

Shortly after, the members began to eat pizza, meet with old friends and show their support for the restaurant.

Kevin Duxbury, Saugus resident and Sheriff’s Deputy, has been with the association for two years and was recently promoted to his chapter’s chaplain.

“When I first got out of the military, I was just looking for a good veteran home,” he said.

Duxbury was drawn to the association in particular due to its proactivity.

“I wanted something a little more proactive,” he said. “Then I found out all these guys do for vets - helping homeless vets, going to the VA hospitals to visit patients and raising money for charity.”

This was a common refrain among many of the association’s members, describing what they call “vets helping vets.”

Brandon Callahan, a Simi Valley resident who served eight years active duty in the Army, described how many of the association’s members are eager to help other veterans.

The association, he said, is composed of veterans from all branches of the armed services. Full members saw direct combat, while support members are veterans who may not have seen combat.

While usually helping veterans, Sunday’s event was a chance for the club to pay it forward to the restaurant which had supported them.

The association hoped to offset the revenue that Vincenzo’s Saugus would lose by not showing Sunday’s NFL games.