A
Patriot Guard Rider is a white, male
There
are exceptions. There are women and
there are Hondas. Indeed, membership is
not restricted in any way.
Still,
there seems to be a lot of commonality among the members who report for our
funeral missions. One can sense a
determination to assure that our nation’s current defenders will not confront
an ignominious return home.
Background:
World
War II involved our entire population in the war effort, but in terms of
military participation, 12 percent of our population served. The two Cold War battles,
American
war dead from WWII numbered some 400 thousand.
The
Greatest Generation Ever fought with all our resources to save our nation and
the world more than 60 years ago. We
have had nuclear weapons ever since but have not used them – we pulled our
punches when geo-politics had to figure-in a paranoid
WWIV
is the struggle of Civilization, led by the sole superpower, against Evil as
manifest by organized international terrorism.
The twin blessings of Capitalism and Democracy have made it feasible for
us to proceed with an all-volunteer force.
Moral clarity was never more essential.
Enter
These
devout Americans believe that homosexuality is the greatest sin. A sacrament of their church is the
“publication” of that message. Less than
two dozen members, these zealots employ a tremendously effective, if cruel,
tactic. They “publish” at military
funerals.
They
don’t claim that the deceased was homosexual.
The theory is that
Digression:
You
don’t have to be an historian, or a veteran, to be disgusted by their tactic. Public outcry during the first months of 2006
has motivated many state legislatures to limit their proximity to
funerals. The federal legislature has
similarly acted. But this only shows the
wisdom of the framers of our Constitution in creating checks and balances.
The
First Amendment to that document guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of
assembly and freedom of religion. These
are freedoms that define us as Americans.
In this country, the government does not tell citizens where they may
stand based on what is written on the sign they want to carry.
In
due course, the courts will strike-down these unconstitutional laws. The Westboro people will claim it as their
victory. In fact, it will be a triumph
of the values our military defends.
End
of digression.
The
Patriot Guard was founded in October, 2005 in reaction to the Westboro
tactic. That was ten months ago and we
are now 50 thousand members. They are
still less than two dozen.
From
my first mission, I developed an appreciation of the insight of the Patriot
Guard leadership and the wisdom of the framers of our Constitution. Last winter in
Hundreds
of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the edge of a parking lot with our backs to
them. The wall of black leather
effectively screened the grieving family from the four of them. To cover their chant, we recited the Pledge
of Allegiance in full-voiced unison. You
had to be there.
Martin
Luther King could not have imagined a non-violent action more effective. We don’t need laws to protect the mourners
when we have stand-up Americans like Patriot Guard Riders. I am pleased to have participated in many
missions since then.
End
of background.
But
we are not civil rights marchers from the ‘60s.
We are (largely) soldiers from the ‘60s.
That is, soldiers from the ‘60s four decades later. Soldiers, Marines and other service members
who have had most of a lifetime to reflect on comrades whose lifetime ended
four decades ago – and had time for the healing of those who survived.
Most
of my participation has been in
I
enjoy photography. I prefer the taking
of pictures and my wife prefers the post-production at her computer, but each
of us can do the job of the other. Robin
and I have a weekend business photographing weddings.
I
took my camera to Merrill and got 240 adequate pics from Tuesday afternoon
through Wednesday afternoon. I have sent
a selection of them to the PGR website for posting.
Six
pictures taken in the
Also,
as a matter of respect for the ceremony, I did not use my camera when I was
performing my duties. These were
three: The visitation, the flag line
prior to the service at the high school, and the flag line prior to the service
at the cemetery.
Photos
2001 through 2018 record the balance of my investigations Tuesday. The father of a Patriot Guard invited us to
his home on a lake just north of town, “weather permitting”. As you can see, the weather did not permit so
most of these were taken in the parking lot of the motel that was to be the
staging area the next morning.
The
weather was clear and beautiful all day Wednesday. 3001 through 3069 were all taken in that
motel parking lot that morning. 3044
through 3061 were taken during the briefing.
We
rode less than a mile to the high school and immediately took-up station. Mourners arrived. Programs were handed out. A few minutes before 1100, the word
circulated that a bald eagle was circling overhead. We all saw it. At 1100 the eagle flew off and the service
began.
I
hurried back to my bike where my camera was stored. The eagle was gone but my fellow Patriot
Guard Riders were right behind me and wanted to turn, aim and shoot
(photographically) them.
Photos
4001 through 4103 were taken in the high school parking lot, after the first
flag line and before the second one. The
first 20 of those capture the pensive melancholy of the flag-bearers returning
to their bikes. The other 83 show our
crew quietly waiting for the order to move to the cemetery.
5001
through 5011 were taken in the cemetery before or after the procession moved
through our formation. 5001 and 5007
show bike bearing the decals that memorialize the event.
The
cemetery is just across the street from the high school – we had moved the
bikes just 100 feet down the street. As
we returned to them we were encouraged to have lunch at the VFW. Well, the VFW hall is next to the high
school, across from the cemetery, so we moved the bikes another 100 feet.
6001
through 6033 will give due credit to the VFW volunteers who produced a large
quantity of good food and served it with great hospitality. No one forgot the solemn nature of our
gathering but everyone was smiling.
Dear
reader, your reward for tolerating my bothersome harangue and my anal
cataloging is at hand. Follow the link
below to a collection of photographs I call “A Portrait of Patriots”.
http://community.webshots.com/album/553406390eWjGIh
You
can play the slideshow (at 2 seconds apiece, it runs 8 minutes) or you can
examine individual photos at length. If
you want to keep a photo for yourself or email it to a photoprinter, click on
“view full size” to get the best resolution.
A large version will open in a new window and you will then have all the
pixels I have to offer.
Respectfully
submitted,
Donald E. Russ
PGR ID deruss
