So the first 5 were assembled: Robo’s son, Keyless (his best friend), then there was Mike Rotolo, Johnny Landin and Smiley (all longtime supporters). The first draft of a patch was drawn based off a dream that they had. The U.S. flag colors with a bald eagle flying west-to-east with a guideon clutched in its’ talons with the Roman numeral II on it; of course, the name was easy: the Second Brigade. But after examining the patch design for a few days, these men were not satisfied, and they started to draw something new.
Another patch was drawn, a top rocker that said ‘Second Brigade’ was added with black lettering and a red background, the bottom rocker would have U.S. The center patch would be an oval with the U.S. flag background, boots, rifle, helmet, dog tags with POW/MIA on them, and a remembrance patch on the front to commemorate the 58,000+ who never returned from Vietnam.
Next, a simple set of bylaws were drawn up….
1) Honor, Family, Job, Club.
2) Be true to yourself and your club.
3) Never lie to your Brothers.
4) Do everything in your power to support Veteran causes.
5) Take responsibility for your club, your Brother’s actions and your own.
By mid-1996, the new patch design premiered at a coalition meeting in Southern Nevada, where not every club was convinced of its’ need in this world. But these three men fought for the rights of veterans to not be dictated to as to how life was going to be. They proclaimed that this club would not just be a gathering of men, but instead a way of life and one where each minute was lived to the fullest. Through tenacity and determination, the Second Brigade Motorcycle Brotherhood was born in the fall of 1996. We would become officially introduced at the next National meeting occurring January 1997 in Jean, Nevada.
We slowly spread eastward setting up chapters and eventually we had to handle business in places like Virginia Beach. By May 1998, in Philippi, West Virginia the powers that be suggested that we had earned the right to become a Motorcycle Club (MC). Soon after in August 2001, a separate VnV affiliate club called the ‘Brothers Too MC’ decided to join the ranks of the new Second Brigade MC.
Only a few years later on May 22, 2004, we became an independent National club as all ties to the VnV were severed, all talks were conducted independently and we held our first National meeting. At this point, We Stood Alone!
Today, we have active chapters across several states, we have found multiple ways to positively affect veteran causes, and in August 2014 we opened our first International chapter in Germany.
