Patriot Guard Riders "standing for those who stood for us"

For those who may be unaware, there is a group of dedicated patriots nationwide, who commit their time and efforts on a strictly volunteer basis, to insure that those who have stood tall for us, are in the end respected and there are those that will stand tall for them.

That may not seem like much to some Americans, but for those of us who have shouldered a burden of shame and disrespect for more than thirty five years? What these men and women do for our fallen soldiers and veterans is truly awe inspiring and sincerely appreciated.

The Patriot Guard Riders was originally formed in response and reaction to the actions of a group of maniacal zealots from the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) located in Topeka Kansas. The stated intention of these miscreants being to picket and protest the funerals of our fallen heroes in uniform who have perished in defense of this nation in Iraq and Afghanistan. You may have seen them and their spawn at soldiers and marines funerals the past several years, holding up their signs that read "God hates fags!" etc, along with other insulting and hurtful messages intended to inflict pain on the survivors and family members in attendance at these funerals.

Members of this 'church' (WBC) subsequently began picketing and protests at the funerals of service men and women around the country in 2006, the first being the funeral of Matthew Snyder, a marine, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. That case is now before the US Supreme Court, The (WBC) having won their case in a lower appeals court

Since that time, (WBC) members have picketed dozens of funerals around the country of other service men and women killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. And as a result, the Patriot Guard riders (PGR) was expanded nationally to answer and respond to these heinous acts against our returning dead and their family members.

Over the past four years, the (PGR) has expanded it's role to include escorting of funeral processions of any deceased veteran or law enforcement officer, Either killed in the line of duty or who was also a veteran.

In each case the (PGR) only responds to requests and invitations to be present at the funeral, by members of the family. The (PGR) provides flag lines at the service and a motorcycle escort to the grave site and a flag line to receive the family once the procession has reached the site of interment.

All (PGR) members are there to render first and foremost, respect for the deceased and their family and when needed and called upon, to stand as a barrier between the family of a deceased hero and anyone present at the service like (WBC) members, who would seek to disrupt, disrespect or cause emotional injury to these grieving families.

As a Former Marine and Vietnam veteran, I found this to be an organization that was entitled to my deepest and sincerest respect. And as such I became a member. Having returned from Vietnam in 1972 to disrespectful protesters and hurtful insults, the thing that has troubled me most for the past thirty eight years, is that there was no one present then to stand up for us in our defense.

So all these years later when I came across this group of individuals nation wide, committed to volunteering their time and expense and effort to honoring these young men and women who have served, I knew that this was an organization that I needed to become a member of.

The obvious need for such a group has been brought into existence by those like the members of the (WBC) and other hate filled groups, whose only desire and intent when it comes to our military personnel and others in uniform, is to disrespect them and injure them and their families at any opportunity they are presented with.

Therefore, what greater calling could anyone have, than to stand in unison and in defense as the motto of the (PGR) so eloquently states "Standing for those who stood for us."

Some will remember last April when we lost twenty nine miners in a terrible explosion and cave in at a mine in West Virgina. As it turns out, there were many veterans among the dead and a number of motorcyclist. And the families of those men notified the West Virginia (PGR) and requested their presence as escorts for the funeral processions. But that was not to be.

As I have now come to learn via second hand reports, the (PGR) was denied the ability to participate in the funerals of these men, as it was deemed a 'security and logistics" problem by the US Secret Service for(PGR)members to participate in the funerals. It seems that since President Obama and Vice President Biden would be in attendance, the Secret Service felt that the presence of Patriots in mass at the funerals, would somehow endanger the lives of President Obama and Vice President Biden, and the necessary logistics to compensate for this feared threat to presidential security? Was more than the Secret Service was either prepared for or willing to provide for. So the state captain of the West Virginia Patriot Guard Riders having been asked by the families to participate, was given this directive by the Secret Service and he subsequently ordered his people in the (PGR) to 'stand down' and not participate in the funerals.

It subsequently came to light that the (WBC) was in attendance for these funerals in West Virginia, having been granted an off site protest site to stand and engage in their hate and lunacy. And it was subsequently learned that the W Virginia state police had agreed to allow the (PGR) to assemble there in opposition to (WBC). And the State President of W Va. (PGR) declined that invitation. And I have to agree with that decision by the state captain. What purpose to be served other than to create a spectacle and potentially serve as an ignition point for violence. The W Va. (PGR) rightfully decided to opt out of that ludicrous offer by the state police and I salute them for their decision.

But the reality remains, that a group of dedicated veterans and patriots were denied the ability to show their respect and support for the families of these fallen men, simply because the president and his entourage decided to make an appearance at the funerals for what I cannot help but believe was nothing more than a photo opportunity and the opportunity for the president to give one of his endless speeches.

And in the opinion and belief of this veteran and Patriot Guard member, that is wrong. And what is even a greater wrong, is that there has not been the first mention of it ever made by the mainstream media. The story of what happened was only covered locally and subsequently it has only been covered nationally in blogs. The vast majority of Americans are unaware of what happened in West Virginia at these funerals or why.

That is not only a travesty of disrespect to these patriots and the families of these dead miners, but it is also a travesty that in today's times, a president can step in and over shadow a day of morning and respect, for no more than the sleaziest elements of political gain. And our fawning mainstream media follows right along behind him and plays the scripted roles they are given and never tells the people what really happened that day or why.

If you want to know what really happened and why concerning the Patriot Guard Riders being ordered to stand down that day, then go to these links and read about it for yourself.

Obama Tells Patriot Guard Get Lost

Patriot Guard Riders (West Virginia)

Patriot guard riders barred from miners memorial

National Coalition of Motorcyclists post very informative articles that pertain to motorcyclists. A visit to their site always brings interesting material to pass on like this story of how Patriot Guard was ordered by the government to 'stand down' from this memorial service.

Thousands of people packed into the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center to say goodbye to 29 men described as heroes and patriots, hard workers and faithful family men.

Here were thousands of people that had not been security cleared but only the true, flag waiving, Patriot Guard (mostly veterans) were turned away and not allowed to participate. Hmmm.

Many of the 29 West Virginia coal miners who died at the Upper Big Branch mining explosion on April 5th were veterans and some rode motorcycles, so bereaved families had requested the Patriot Guard Riders to attend the memorial service. PGR is an informal group of motorcyclists which exists to make sure that all veterans are given respectful funerals. But they were barred from attending this service by federal officials who labeled them a security threat.

The appearance of the Patriot Guard Riders at the service, at the request of several families, had been cleared in advance by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, who is also a motorcycle rider. But the day before the service, Joe Cumblidge, the West Virginia State Captain of the Patriot Guard Riders e-mailed the men who were scheduled to participate: “Due to circumstances totally and completely beyond the control of the Patriot Guard Riders and Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia, we are regrettably ordering a STAND DOWN for this mission. Specific details will not be posted here but, we’ve been told we are not welcome to participate because of certain high-level dignitaries that are scheduled to be in attendance.”

The “high-level dignitaries” were President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. A Patriot Guard Rider told WSAZ in Charleston that Manchin had been forbidden to allow them to participate “because of overwhelming security concerns with high-ranking federal officials -- it was just not logistically possible for them to be a part of the event.”

Both Obama and Biden managed to escape West Virginia unharmed.

I wonder if Obama just didn't want all those American Flags that he refuses to respect or all the black leather that the men wore? Was he 'profiling' a certain segment of society and discriminating against them?

Maybe he didn’t want true Americans who aren’t afraid to show their patriotism. It’s another example of Obamanation.