WarChild Riding Group
Sandy's Toddle Inn - Chaffee MO
Bikers Who Care – We Support:
Finding Cures – Saving Children
Free Spirit
Patriot Guard Riders Mission Statement
Notice - The PGR store is open since the first of the new year.
Thank you for your patience.
The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us.
We don’t care what you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a "hawk" or a "dove". It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is. You don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect.
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 friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.
Folks, this is not just important…
It’s what we do!
Join Us!
RD - SE Missouri Ride Captain
Stars & Stripes Museum
 This Dayin History |
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Over the last 139 years, millions of copies of The Stars and Stripes have been distributed throughout the world. And, it all began during the Civil War in the town of Bloomfield, located in southeast Missouri. It was here on November 9, 1861 that ten Illinois Union soldiers, using the vacated press of The Bloomfield Herald, published the first "Stars and Stripes" which they named after the American flag. One of the original copies of that 1861 paper is now owned by the Stoddard County Historical Society and to be put on loan with the museum. The Stars and Stripes flourished during each of the five major wars this country has fought. |
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During World War II, General George C. Marshall referred to The Stars and Stripes "as a symbol of the things we are fighting to preserve...free thought and free expression of a free people". Many famous people have been connected with The Stars and Stripes: Cartoonist Bill Mauldin; Andy Rooney and Steve Kroft of "Sixty Minutes" were former Striper's as was Harold K. Ross, founder of the New Yorker magazine. Grantland Rice, Ernie Pyle and other war correspondents have also contributed to the newspaper. Several former S & S staff members and various war veterans have donated personal letters, unpublished behind-the-scenes reports, back issues of The Stars and Stripes and other interesting war-related items to be displayed or filed as reference material. |
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All this history will be preserved. A Stars and Stripes Museum/Library with climate-controlled storage, handicapped accessibility, display and meeting rooms will be invaluable for research. The facility serves historians, students and writers, as well as the general public. |
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WarChild Riding Group Supports Patriot Guard
Riding guard Local chapter of the Patriot Guard rides at soldiers' funerals
Southeast MissourianAt most funerals, the procession is just a few cars, the hearse and maybe a police car or two to get the group through traffic. However, during a funeral in Jackson on Sept. 17, 2006, nearly 200 motorcycles joined in on the ride that took Cpl. Jeremy Shank of Jackson to his final resting place at Russell Heights Cemetery.
The motorcyclists were from The Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcyclists that formed initially to guard against war protesters at funerals of American soldiers who died in Iraq. The national organization has more than 200,000 members.
For local rider and ride captain Randy Dunn, it's all about honoring the fallen soldier and keeping the protesters as far away as possible.
"They're sophomoric and childish," Dunn said. He went on to say that the protesters take patriotic songs, change the lyrics to "fit their agenda," but are "all bark and no bite."
The Patriot Guard Riders was started by a group of American Legion Riders from Kansas in 2005 after a group of "religious zealots" showed up to protest at a soldier's funeral. After the riders in Kansas worked at a few of the local military funerals, they set up a Web site to bring in riders from all across the United States.
Sometimes the funeral home will contact the group. Sometimes they read about the death on the Department of Defense's Web site, and contact the funeral home to see if the family would like them to be involved, Dunn said. The group does nothing if the family declines their offer of involvement.
Typically, the riders first meet and escort the soldier's body from the airport to the funeral home. The Southeast Missouri chapter usually travels to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, where the riders, local police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol all help bring the casket home.
After that, the riders usually attend the viewing, both to pay respect to the family and to guard the family and the casket as visitors come and go. They then escort the body to the funeral and the cemetery.
"It's whatever the family wants," Dunn said.
Out of the 126 local members, 20 are veterans. Larry Glueck, who was stationed in Germany from 1971 to 1973, was recruited by Dunn, his friend and co-worker.
Glueck's first funeral detail was for Sgt. David Herrera's funeral in Clarksville, Tenn.
"I didn't realize it'd be 27 degrees," he said. "We were just freezing."
But it was all worth it, Glueck said. At the end of the service, the soldier's grandmother walked across the cemetery and gave Gueck a hug and thanked him for being there for her family. After that, he was hooked.
For more information, go to www.patriotguard.org.
Boo Parker showed the motorcycle he rides with the Patriot Guard Riders. (FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com)
Patriot Guard motorcycles led the funeral procession Feb. 16 for Sgt. Bradley Skelton down Route Z in Gordonville. The Patriot Guard Riders was formed to keep anti-war protesters away from soldiers' funerals. The group, which has more than 200,000 members, also escorts caskets from the airport in addition to participating in funeral processions. (AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com)