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My dad, on the Patriot Guard Riders:
Aug. 26th, 2011 10:54 amI know Lise and some others of you are interested in this group, so I'm passing this on
"I was told there were about 200 of them (PGR) there from all over. Charlie [my uncle, dad's brother] and I talked to one from Michigan. He rode his bike straight through for 800 miles to meet the plane that brought the body to GI. He left as soon as the funeral was over and was going to drive straight back without stopping. The Patriot Guard met the plane, lined the runway holding flags and then escorted the hearse and family to Hastings. They also stand guard at the funeral home from Sunday until Tuesday, On the day of the funeral they encircled the entry ways to the church (guarding the ceremony). Only a few go in for the service. When the body is brought out of the church about half of them lead the procession and the other half follow the family. When you get to the cemetery, they form a huge circle around the grave sight and the people who attend. Each carried a large American flag facing the ceremony at the cemetery."
800 miles to do this! For a servicemember he didn't even know. Awed and grateful.
Dad also said:
"There were three detachments of Marines there all in dress blue. I only saw one officer and the rest were Sgts. One group was with the family since the day the family was notified, and two groups from different bases in California drove nonstop in vans to be there. I would guess there were about 50 in all. Rhonda [this is the widow, she's my Dad's cousin's daughter], unbelievably gave a eulogy. When the body was loaded in the hearse the first vehicle was a new Harley Davidson that Joshua had just bought before he went overseas. His best buddy drove it back from California where he had it stored. Rhonda hopped on the back and rode in the procession that way." [I saw this via one of the photos in the local paper; I saw her on the back of the bike; I didn't know it was Josh's bike. Imagine his friend making that drive across the country. Boy.]
"I was told there were about 200 of them (PGR) there from all over. Charlie [my uncle, dad's brother] and I talked to one from Michigan. He rode his bike straight through for 800 miles to meet the plane that brought the body to GI. He left as soon as the funeral was over and was going to drive straight back without stopping. The Patriot Guard met the plane, lined the runway holding flags and then escorted the hearse and family to Hastings. They also stand guard at the funeral home from Sunday until Tuesday, On the day of the funeral they encircled the entry ways to the church (guarding the ceremony). Only a few go in for the service. When the body is brought out of the church about half of them lead the procession and the other half follow the family. When you get to the cemetery, they form a huge circle around the grave sight and the people who attend. Each carried a large American flag facing the ceremony at the cemetery."
800 miles to do this! For a servicemember he didn't even know. Awed and grateful.
Dad also said:
"There were three detachments of Marines there all in dress blue. I only saw one officer and the rest were Sgts. One group was with the family since the day the family was notified, and two groups from different bases in California drove nonstop in vans to be there. I would guess there were about 50 in all. Rhonda [this is the widow, she's my Dad's cousin's daughter], unbelievably gave a eulogy. When the body was loaded in the hearse the first vehicle was a new Harley Davidson that Joshua had just bought before he went overseas. His best buddy drove it back from California where he had it stored. Rhonda hopped on the back and rode in the procession that way." [I saw this via one of the photos in the local paper; I saw her on the back of the bike; I didn't know it was Josh's bike. Imagine his friend making that drive across the country. Boy.]
