Submitted Daryl Kuhnhenn was a veteran and active volunteer in the community. The third annual memorial ride in his honor is today.

Motorcycles and vehicles will cruise down Main Avenue in Rugby in honor of a Rugby veteran, business owner and volunteer

The third annual Daryl Kuhnhenn Memorial Ride takes place today, with registration at 9:30 a.m. at the Rugby Eagles. The ride goes down Main Avenue at 11 a.m., and makes stops in Willow City, Drake, Towner, Martin and Balta before coming back to Rugby later in the day. A supper will be held at the Memorial Hall.

Funds raised from the ride will go to community charities and organizations, as well as to the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club to build a memorial wall. In the past, funds have been donated to the Rugby Lions Club, Restore the Lyric, Rugby Food Pantry and Prairie Village Museum.

“The biggest thing we try to do is give to more non-profits,” said Ben Kuhnhenn, an organizer of the memorial ride. “Over the years we hope to make it bigger and better so that we can give a lot more back.

The ride honors Daryl Kuhnhenn, Ben’s father, who died in September 2011 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident near Drake. He was 62 years old.

Daryl Kuhnhenn was involved in several community organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the hockey association, Rugby Lions Club and the racing association. He was also a commander of the Clarence Larson American Legion Post No. 23 in Rugby. For many years he owned and operated Daryl’s Refrigeration.

From February 1968 to September 1969, Daryl Kuhnhenn served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

“The ride is to remember what my dad did for the community and the type of person he was, a giving person,” Ben Kuhnhenn said. “We want to use his memory for good.”

The ride hasn’t been limited to just motorcycles. Classic cars have also taken part. Last year, 180 motorcycles and 40 vehicles joined the ride.

Rugby area resident and former high school principal David Zwingel said he plans to take part in this year’s memorial ride. Zwingel rode with Daryl and other Vietnam veterans at a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D.

“Daryl was a friend of mine,” Zwingel said. “[The ride] is a good way to celebrate a guy who enjoyed riding bike.”