The Digital Video & Imagery Distribution System is DVIDS.  It is a creation of CENTCOM that supports public media.  Sergeant Brian Tuthill took photos in Afghanistan the same day I was taking photos in Fort Atkinson.  Six of his follow:

 

 

 

Yousef, a Nawa district police officer, renders a salute in front of the memorial of Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, during a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., was killed, Jan. 10, while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

 

Haji Mohammed Khan, the district administrator of Nawa, pays his respects to Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, during a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar, Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., was killed, Jan. 10, while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

 

Lance Cpl. Davide Perna , a 20-year-old fire team leader, with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, renders a salute in front of the memorial of Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, during a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar, Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., was killed, Jan. 10 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

Staff Sgt. David A. Schaefer, platoon sergeant, 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, touches the dog tags of Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert before saying a silent prayer during a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar, Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., served in 3rd Platoon and was killed, Jan. 10, while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

Sgt. Steven J. Habon, squad leader, Lance Cpl. Christopher W. Klumpp, infantry rifleman, and Lance Cpl. Jacob B. Hannah, fire team leader, all with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, salute during the playing of "Taps" during a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar, Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., was killed Jan. 10 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

Lance Cpl. Robert E. Mills, 20, an automatic rifleman with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, places a helmet on top of the memorial stand for Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Spin Ghar, Jan. 20. Meinert, 20, from Fort Atkinson, Wis., was killed, Jan. 10, while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…which brings us to my photos, taken in Fort Atkinson, and taken at the same time for the same purpose.  As Jacob was honored in Afghanistan by his fellow Marines, so was he honored by fellow Marines in Fort Atkinson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good mission statement is short.  The PGR’s reads:

 

Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives:

 

1      Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.

 

2      Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

 

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

 

 

 

 

 

The second objective is obsolete.  Our Friends From Westboro were neutralized by the PGR four years ago.  Many states and the federal government have pruned the First Amendment in order to give law enforcement a greater opportunity to enforce decorum.  And the family of Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder collected $5 million from a lawsuit.  Westboro has moved on to softer targets.

 

And yet it is still instructive to note that the Second Objective reads “shield” – not “comfort”, nor “console”.

 

 

 

 

 

Our First (and now our only) Objective has always been to “show sincere respect”.  I think we can learn from the time-honored traditions of the military, and especially the Marines.  It comes down to this:

 

If you are there because you are proud of the Patriot Guard Riders, you are confused and you should go home.

 

The only reason for going and standing and sometimes freezing is because you are proud of the fallen hero.  That’s a whole different thing.

 

Think about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo album one

 

photo album two

 

 

 

back to page one

 

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