Gotham City Racing co-owner Roger Burgess wanted to expose a few drag racers to a once in lifetime experience and did so Thursday evening before the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The former Vietnam Veteran and now successful businessman chartered a jet to Atlanta, Georgia for himself and nitro racers Melanie Troxel, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Frank Hawley to attend the Company of Heroes dinner at the Atlanta Aquarium.

The event was to honor those who have been presented the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor on the battlefield. Only 105 of those recipients are alive. Gotham City Racing co-owner Roger Burgess wanted to expose a few drag racers to a once in lifetime experience and did so Thursday evening before the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The former Vietnam Veteran and now successful businessman chartered a jet to Atlanta, Georgia for himself and nitro racers Melanie Troxel, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Frank Hawley to attend the Company of Heroes dinner at the Atlanta Aquarium.

The event was to honor those who have been presented the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor on the battlefield. Only 105 of those recipients are alive.

Gotham City Racing’s Jon Cavaiani was one of 36 survivors who attended the function. He’s a semi-regular at NHRA events and co-ordinates with the Gotham City Racing’s veterans outreach program.

Hawley is known as a two-time Funny Car world champion and successful drag racing school instructor. On this evening, he found himself a fan of those who have served the country.

“I’ve had a little bit of time to spend with Jon Cavaiani and to be in the same room with 36 of them was a once in a lifetime experience,” Hawley said. “I met about half of them and their stories are incredible, they are true American heroes. I can’t imagine anything else I could have done last night that would have even come close to the experience.”

Johnson’s perception of the event was one capable of teaching many lessons.

“You immediately see the parallels with what they did and what we need to do with our teams at times,” Johnson said. “There’s not one person in the military, there’s a team. Each one of these guys stepped up to be the leaders in their team and there are times we can step up and bring those values to our teams. What we do is on a different scale than what they do. There’s lots you can learn from their lessons.”

In his job as a Funny Car driver, Johnson cannot afford to be intimidated by fellow drivers. This experience left him with no other choice.

“There was some intimidation there,” Johnson admitted. “Not being in the military and being around those who were and to see how they conducted themselves made you want to do the same.”

Honored at the function were U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and Kimberly Dozier, the CBS correspondent who was so badly wounded in Iraq on Memorial Day, 2006. Dozier has since written a book, Breathing the Fire. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams was the event emcee.

Troxel, who has flown the banner of the veterans and the POW-MIA awareness for two seasons now, cannot thank Burgess enough for the opportunity to attend.

“I felt very fortunate to be invited by Roger Burgess,”  “Just being in the presence of so many Medal of Honor recipients was a special experience was an experience I will cherish for a long time.”

Hawley pointed out that everyone should experience this event to further understand what defines a hero.

“I’ve always tried to make everyone realize that what we are doing is just fun and entertaining,” Hawley added. “We want to do well in what we do but it is a sport. Sometimes we can take what we do too seriously. The idea that we call those who race out here heroes is probably not the best word. The guys there were real heroes. They’ve contributed to our freedom and our lifestyle in a way I could never do in a race car, no matter how many championships I may win. There’s nothing we can do that would even come close to the sacrifice those brave soldiers made.”