http://www.inyork.com/ci_17444796?source=most_viewed
Very
Short Notice
Confirmed
Mission
1LT.
Daren M. Hidalgo
Waukesha,
WI
Feb
27 - Mar 2, 2011
1LT
Daren M Hidalgo, 24, was killed in action February 20, 2011 while serving his
country in Afghanistan. He graduated
from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2009. He completed Infantry Officer Basic Course,
Airborne, Ranger, Army Combatives, and Stryker Leader
Course at Ft. Benning, GA. Daren was assigned to G Company, 2nd Stryker
Cavalry Regiment, Rose Barracks, Germany.
Daren’s
father contacted us immediately requesting that the Patriot Guard Riders attend
the services for his son. Due to the
high profile of this mission, he is concerned about "uninvited
guests". Let us support this fine
military family and recognize the supreme sacrifice Daren made for our country
and our freedom. This is expected to be
a large turnout mission.
Due
to the size of this event, I have offered to take on traffic control as we are
expecting 1,000 people, will be filling 3 parking lots, and have to handle a
grade school release in the middle of the visitation.
All
members are to park in the Lakeview Lodge / Bowling alley lot north of the
church. I will attempt to stake a PGR
flag at the parking area.
Staging
will be directly south of parking in the northeast corner of the main lot. Again, members who have high visibility vests
are asked to bring them.
Anyone
who served in Cavalry please contact me directly as soon as a possible (jcurran516@aol.com)
Visitation:
Wednesday March 2, 2011
11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
(from I-94 exit County Road SS)
W280N2101 Prospect Ave
Pewaukee, WI 53072
Staging
9:00 a.m.
- family arrival 10:00 a.m.
Funeral Service:
Follows
immediately at 4:00 p.m.
Return Escort to
Randle–Dable Funeral Home
1110 South Grand Avenue
Waukesha, WI 53186
Burial will be at West Point.
Ride Captain for return is Jim Unruh JUNRUH2@WI.RR.COM
Ride
Captain for services is Terry Streicher tweerybird@sbcglobal.net
Assisting at services John Curran jcurran516@aol.com
I traveled up from Illinois two
weeks after 14 Democrats of the Wisconsin Senate traveled down to
Illinois. This is an historic time for
Wisconsin. The day before the funeral
for Daren, Governor Walker presented his budget even though the Senate cannot
gather a quorum adequate for fiscal business.
A similar conflict in several other states when government unions are entrenched
has focused national attention on Gov. Walker.
So he didn’t want to disrupt the
funeral by attracting demonstrators to it.
Instead of coming to the church, he went to the funeral home and met
with the family there. We assembled at
the church and waited.
A girl making a flower delivery who
was familiar with the PGR Mission paused and shouted, “Let’s hope that you won’t
have to do anything today except make a patriotic display!”
The State Captain shouted back, “And
assist with parking!”
Four PGRiders
had been promised for duty in the parking lot.
And that seemed strange to me.
The State Captain would tell us of
the email he received from Daren’s father at 0600 following the day he was
notified. Think about that. The first thing he thought of when he was
ready to start making arrangement was the Patriot Guard Riders. It wasn’t because he needed cars parked.
The first order of business to place
two flags at each of the two parking lot entrances.
None of us knew Daren. Most of us would leave the parking lot after
seven hours of standing. We would not go
inside. There was no escort
planned. Our lives would intersect with
Daren’s in only a very limited way.
And yet we were invited and we were
glad to be invited. We had taken
vacation days and dressed for the weather and would do what we could.
Terry was the perfect Ride
Captain. We were all willing to take
instruction, so her low-key and friendly leadership was well received.
We don’t need encouragement and we
don’t want gratitude. We just want the
Ride Captain to know what we should do and tell us.
Rob had produce mission stickers.
Pledge & prayer.
There is always a briefing just
before we go begin. The one time I heard
Terry get tough was when she told us what we were not going to do in the flagline. “No cell
phones. No eating or drinking. No smoking.
No talking.”
We all knew those things. We had heard them before. But she was not perfunctory. She was emphatic.
If you want to be a Ride Captain for
the glory of it, then you want it for the wrong reasons. Terry was not off someplace taking
credit. Twice she came over to me and
asked if she could take my place so that I could have a break.
Just after Daren arrived but before
the arrival of the many who would mourn his passing, my phone received a text message
from my wife.
And then they came. Most walked past us
silently. A few glanced at us and
said “Thank you for being here.” And a
few went down our line.
There is no right or wrong. Anything they want to do is fine with us.
The job we created for ourselves is
to stand with flags. It is a powerful
statement.
We don’t try to convince anyone of
our sympathy or sincerity. Any other
communication would only dilute our message.
A medic, a First Sergeant, smiled.
And a General.
An Air Force Captain stopped in
front of me to say thanks and then walked on.
I took his picture as he entered the building.
Rob and Mike held the doors for
him. We are not doormen, but we are not
comfortable standing by while people struggle with doors. There is something ungentlemanly about it –
we are not the Buckingham Palace Guards.
But it is not right to hold a flag
while holding the door – flag-holding is a full-time job.
And then a lady emerged from a car
and had some trouble at the curb. Rob
came out to her. I noticed that he went
down to one knee and did something at her shoe.
Then he rose, offered her his arm and walked her in.
And that is another way to show
respect for Daren.
Then it was time for the service to
begin. Finally. I was cold and hungry. My feet and knees hurt.
The church and the army would take
it from here. I was going home.
Daren’s brother was a West Point
graduate too. As was their father before
them.
Daren had returned from southern
Afghanistan and was returning to West Point.
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