Patriot Guard Riders

So far this month we have had two missions for the Patriot Guard Riders. Our first mission in July was in Laurel. Kimberly Johnson was an active member of the Navy. She was stationed in Virginia and was killed in a motorcycle accident. We got the call for the mission but it was short notice. Her funeral was on the 3rd. We went because we were both off anyway and we figured that they needed as many members as they could get. There were about 15 of us for her family.

The mission today was for Donald Wolfe who was from Hardin. He was killed in action in Viet Nam in 1967 and was laid to rest today. For many decades his remains were lost and was just recently identified. His daughter was born about a week after he died. His family was here in town today and he was buried at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Our group was called and we ended up staging in two different areas. We stationed with about 30 others at Bullis's funeral home and we escorted him to the cemetary. The family came out and talked to each and every one of us. We were even invited to come inside for part of the service. Gary had the honor for the missing man formation. When the motorcycles escort to the cemetary, they are side by side. There is one spot saved for the missing man and we got that honor today. The only problem with being in this spot, is we don't get to see the procession.

There were about 100 other Patriot Guard Riders who has staged at the cemetary. Not only were the Patriot Guard Riders there, but also some Viet Nam veterans. It sure was a sight to see all the flags. Gary and I were both honored to be a part of this.

Quite a few of us came into to town to eat lunch at the 4 Aces. We do have support vehicles and one lady in her vehicle was having problems. Some of the guys with us are mechanics, so they went out got her car going and brought it into town. We took it to the Chevy dealer for her Ford vehicle. It was determined that her fuel filter wasn't working properly, anyway she got fixed and on her way home to Billings. About 8 of us stayed with her to make sure that she would make it home. I told her that if needed we would give her a ride back to Billings. The others made sure that she got home ok, they followed her on their motorcycles.

There were at least 65 motorcycles at the cemetary, some came from all over, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Nebraska and one woman came all the way from Florida. She had a MIA bracelet and it was Donald Wolfe. She felt that she needed to come. We did get to meet her and she was a very nice lady. She couldn't believe how friendly everyone was and she felt right at home. The photo is from today of the Patriot Guard flag line.

We are both honored to be able to perform this duty for our fallen veterans and service members.