Biker Stories

I became a Patriot Guard Rider along with my wife about 2 1/2 months ago. The Patriot Guard Riders are a group of people from all walks of life and from all over the country, who stand in support of our great military heros’ both past and present. The Patriot Guard was initially formed to protect the families of soldiers who have passed on from protesters who attempted to disrupt memorial services and funerals and provide a peaceful safe presence while they honor their deceased. Since its’ inception the Patriot Guard has grown to in excess of 200,000 members. I am very proud to be counted in that great number. My experiences with the Patriot Guard Riders began with my first mission of standing a flag line and escorting a Korean War veteran to his final resting place. Thus began a continuing journey of service that for me has been both humbling and extremely fulfilling. I have stood at the side of my brother and sister members, some of us motorcycle riders and some not, some of us veterans and some of us not, as we as well as family and friends, honor the fallen. I have stood at the gravesites of both young and old. One mission I had the privilege of attending was for 9 year old Odie Harris. This young man lost his battle with cancer at an all to young age. It was Odies’ dream to beat his cancer and live to become a career Marine. His dream was fulfilled when he was made both an Honorary Young Marine by The Bossier Parish Louisiana Young Marines and by The United States Marine Corp. When Odie made his final roll call, his family requested the presence of the Patriot Guard to stand for him and escort him to his final resting place. What an honor it was to stand for this young man. Over 100 Patriot Guard Riders were in attendance. On this day I had both the American flag and The Marine Corp flags displayed on my bike. I was given the honor of being the lone rider to separate from the group and be placed directly in front of the coach carrying this Young Marine and escort him on his final mission. At his gravesite I was asked to bear the Marine Corp flag in his flagline. What a humbling honor! I have stood a flagline in above 100 degree heat on Memorial Day at The Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetary to honor the fallen heros’ from all wars who have given their lives for this country. What a blessing. I have also taken part in services for recent fallen heros. One of these was for SSGT. Michael Garcia. SSGT. Garcia was KIA in Afghanistan on 4 July 2011 after his vehicle was struck by an I.E.D. The Patriot Guard was called upon by his family to retrieve the remains of this American Hero at the airport and provide escort for him to the funeral home. There were again close to 100 riders present for this escort. As we returned to Bossier City to the funeral home, we were greeted by hundreds of people lining Airline Drive from I-220, some 2 miles to the funeral home. This public display with flags and banners waving put a tear in my eye. What a deserving show of respect for this unselfish young man. I experienced this same feeling as we stood a flagline for SSGT. Garcia the next day and as we escorted him to his final resting place the following. I have also had the honor of standing for veteran soldiers from wars past. One such veteran was Air Force Sgt.M.C. Gray, a Korean War vet from Plain Dealing,LA. How amazing it was to watch literally a whole town turn out to honor this man who had given many years of service to his country. Another mission I would like to share was for SGT. Christopher Soderlund. SGT. Soderlund was KIA 9 July 2011 by RPG fire in Afghanistan. He is from DeVille,LA. This young United States Army soldier was only 23 years old. We made a ride of over 150 miles to stand for him. He left behind a wife a two very young children. This was one of the toughest missions I have been on. My heart still grieves for this young soldiers family. It is truly heartwrenching to stand as you watch honor guard members present memorial flags to these young soldiers children under the age of 10. Some may ask why we in the Patriot Guard Riders do what we do and I can only answer for myself. I do it to stand in honor and respect for all my Brothers in Arms who have gone before me. I stand in honor and respect for their families who have made many sacrifices so that we may be free. Whenever we are called upon, no matter how far, no matter what kind of weather I will continue this journey until I complete my final mission myself and they stand for me.

This story comes from Cristie, submitted in exchange for military patches

Today is a very sad day for people living in Louisiana we have lost yet another one of our heroes. Sgt Christopher P. Soderlund 23 of Pineville, La died July 9, 2011 in Logar Province Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with rocket propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,10th Mountain Division out of Fort Polk Louisiana. Sgt Soderlund joined the Army in March 2006. After training at Fort Benning Ga he was stationed at Fort Irwin, Ca. He arrived at Fort Polk in November of 2007 and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2007 to January 2009. He deployed with his unit in October to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt Soderlund’s award and decorations include the Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, The Army Commendation Medal, The Valorous Unit Award, The Army Good Conduct Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, The Iraq Campaign Medal, The Afghanistan Campaign Medal, The Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, The Non Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, The Army Service Ribbon, The Overseas Service Ribbon, The NATO Medal and The Combat Infantryman Badge. Sgt Soderlund is survived by his wife, two children, mother, father and stepfather. This comes just days after we brought SSGT Michael Garcia home. I was with the Patriot Guard and Ssgt Garcia’s family at the Shreveport Airport on July 11, 2011 when the plane carrying Ssgt Garcia’s body landed. This was a very sad and somber moment when the plane opened up and they carried his flag draped casket off. The last person to see Ssgt Michael Garcia’s casket was his 10 year old son Elijah who then wrapped his arms around his daddy’s casket and said “Why did you have to go daddy”. At that moment there was not a dry eye on that tarmac that hot summer day. It pains me to hear that Louisiana lost another brave hero. I now get to get ready to make that trip to be there and stand tall and proud for Sgt Soderlund and give him his final salute.

I recently received the All Gave Some , Some Gave All patch from Thecheapplace.com I wanted to share why this patch is so special to me . I am a member of the Patriot Guard Riders we attend the funerals for fallen soldiers and Veterans , here just a couple of days ago we got word that Staff Sgt. Michael J. Garcia , 27, of Bossier City, La., died July 4 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 63rd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group . This is a hometown hero he gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country . The All Gave Some Some Gave All patch that I have sewn on my vest reminds me everyday what our men and women give for this country . These brave men and women leave behind their families to go fight for our freedom in this country and Billy Ray Cyrus said it all in his 1992 Song Some Gave All anyone that has heard this song it tells the story of what our men and women go through everyday. I am ready to stand tall in the flag line for SSG Michael J. Garcia our hometown hero and give him his final salute and lay him to rest . I will stand tall for all my fallen heroes past or present . I will always be reminded by All Gave Some Some Gave All Patch when attending the funerals of these fallen heroes that I am lucky to have theses brave men and women fighting for my freedom and protecting my country from harm . Every time I see a soldier around town I stop and shake their hand and say thank you because of what they do . Let all of us just be reminded of the soldiers fighting for us that All GAVE SOME , SOME GAVE ALL

This is kind of a story on how I got some of my patches and pins that I wear on my jacket and vest. I am gonna start with my firefighters patch I got this patch at a Vets for Vets rally a couple of years ago I bought this patch because my grandfather is retired from the fire department and my uncle is a current captain for the fire department and I wanted this patch just for that reason I also purchased a red cord that I have on my left shoulder along with my fire department patch. The next ones I am gonna talk about are on the right side of my jacket and they are all Military patches given to me by all my friends currently serving in the military.. First Patch my 10th Mountain patch given to me by my brother-in-law SGT James Wooters Patch 2 my 509th airborne patch given to me by my brother CPL Kristopher Norris I watched him jump out of a plane scared the crap out of me .Patch 3 Warrior Brigade (looks like the Pepsi logo) given to me by my friend CPL Sarah Clark who is now stationed in Germany I have not had that one sewn on yet ..Patch 4 is the 159th airborne stationed in Italy given to me by Cpl Aaron Parris Patch 5 a Skull given to me by my husband on my birthday he knows I love skulls Patch 6 Super Bitch well that one is self explanatory Patch 7 You cant disturb the disturbed Patch 8 Angel wing from TheCheapPlace.com in honor of my stepdaughter who passed away at 14 almost a year ago Patch 8 is a witch also from Thecheapplace.com I got this one because I am Wiccan and just cause she is cute  that is all the patches I have for now but will be getting more soon

The story below got Christie some free patches from The Cheap Place. Write your own story in exchange for some embroidered patches from our online patch store. All stories that are related to Biker or Veteran life is welcome. We give you 1 cent a word towards patch purchases from the patches we make.

Hello I wanted to share the story of the Patriot Guard Riders and give everyone a little taste of what is that we do . This group is here to protect the families from protesters like the people from Westboro Baptist Church the Patriot Guard was captured in some videos on you tube showing them gassing their bikes while the people were protesting these people have been spotted wearing flags upside down and dragging the flag on the ground these are evil mean people and they have no respect for our military people they think it is funny to protest at funerals while the families of the lost soldiers are being laid to rest so ask yourself Who are the Patriot Guard Riders.. well here is some help to answer that question 6 years ago there were 0 Patriot Guard Riders as of now there are over 230,000 members all across the united states and all states that have the Patriot Guard have multiple chapters in that state.The growth has not come easy and it is not perfect but we have made it this far and hope to have more members every day .The Patriot Guard is like the Hell’s Angels that stands with a flag for three hours in honor of a fallen soldier or vet we are also like the  Christian Motorcyclist Association rider that stands next to him the Patriot Guard Riders is like an elderly lady with a flag over her walker standing out on the side of the road watching as A hearse go by with the body of a fallen soldier or Veteran or standing at a graveside with the other guys .A Patriot Guard Rider is a group that will ride over 300 miles or more praying to god to give them the strength to make it to the destination to stand in the flag line to honor the fallen solider or veteran and to give that solider or veteran their final salute or even help carry their fallen brother from the hearse to the church or the hearse to the graveside ..or having 250 bikes show up in a town of 3500 people some of us ride hundreds of miles and have left our houses as early as 4:00 in the morning just to make a mission some of us have been caught in rain some in snow some in thunderstorms but no matter the weather we always make the mission no matter how far now matter what the weather does we are here for our fallen soldiers and veterans We are humbled when the honor guards of our great military branches comes and shakes our hands for just standing out in a flag line for hours and one says to you there will be more tomorrow We spend hours in a flag line in 100 degree weather 25 degree weather only to find out that one of the guys standing next to you has a son that committed suicide 6 months after coming home from Iraq We have had people do lunches for us take us to dinner and all refuse donations or help cleaning up afterwards we have had people tell us that are in the Patriot Guard that had a grandson kill himself after returning home We also have ride captains and other people that drive a van or truck or car that their only job is to carry flags and water and Gatorade around just to make sure that we have plenty of hydration while out in the flag lines cause let me tell ya here in Louisiana and over in Texas it gets HOT!!!! We know that so any of our veterans return home we have a friend who is a Vietnam Veteran and he was spit on when he returned home now what I don’t understand is why people treat our veterans so badly they are out there fighting for us and people crap on them when they get back from where ever they come back from . We are not a service group we are not lobbyist there are other groups that do this work and we greatly encourage their support . We have ridden in rain so bad that we can’t see in front of us but we can see the tail lights of the person in front of us due to the fact that we ride in a group as a group because word got out that there would be protesters at a soldiers funeral and we come in like the knight in shining armor to make sure that the protester does not disturb the family of the fallen by screaming vile things during the service we are like the ultimate shield for the families of these fallen heroes and wether or not there are 20 of us or 320 of us standing there to protect this family we will not let protesters in the way of honoring our fallen my first mission it was the proudest day of my life because I was able to see the faces  of this veterans family as we stood outside that funeral home as they brought him out his flag draped casket   being wheeled into the hearse and then to have the whole family come to us after internment and hug our necks or shake our hand and say thank you for being here that really makes you feel good inside knowing you did this for this family and having enough respect to honor our fallen we would rather be no where else than to stand at the graveside  of a friends father on the anniversary of his passing A father who earned the silver star  in Korea or a purple heart in WW2 these are the kinds of people that are real heroes not like spiderman or superman these men and women of our military are the real super heroes of this world they see more stuff in  a year deployed than we do at home on the news they live the nightmare they are away from their families and life just to put their life on the line for us when people ask us how many Patriot Guard Riders will be there we say their might be 100 but I guarantee there will be at least 2 . Being in the Patriot Guard is not something fun and exciting it is very serious and it is one of the hardest things you will ever do I know I lost my grandpa about 7 years ago and he had full military honors I mean taps the 21 gun salute and I know how upset I was when I heard those guns go off and I have been to several funerals since becoming a member of the Patriot Guard and the first thing I did was tear up when i heard taps played we did a funeral for a guy last week and he had the 21 gun salute and when we got to the cemetery we stood there in our flag line and watched the service and when they started that 21 gun salute I started shaking and tears ran down my face but I continued to stand there cause it was for this great veteran who fought for us when you have the wife or mother of a fallen solider or veteran come and cry on your shoulder and thank you for standing in honor of her son or husband  I always say it was an honor to be here thank you for having us and giving us this honor to stand here for your husband or son or daughter we also have gone to airports and been there when a solider comes home from overseas and we have been there when they escort them home in a casket and we have seen the soldiers buddy with him and standing there and saluting us with tears streaming down his face cause he lost his brother in arms and he was there to be with his buddy as they slowly take the casket out of the plane . Being a Patriot Guard Rider may not be fun but you will never meet a better group of people it has been a very rewarding thing to my husband and I and without a doubt in my mind it has changed our life forever and you are never to old to be a Patriot Guard Rider we have a young lady that is 12 years old and she goes with her dad to the missions that we have and on our recent mission she was rewarded her 5 mission pin and her dad pinned it on her and she was so proud that day and she has been on every mission with us and she rides on the back of her dads bike and she stands in the flag line standing tall and holding that flag that it is a bar of gold so precious and happy this is one of the best things other than getting married and having my kids that could have ever happened to me and no matter what we will always be here to take care and stand in honor of our fallen brothers and sisters no matter veterans active duty firefighters police officers you will always see our gold and blue flags along with out american flags and service flags flying we did a mission for a solider that was killed overseas and we went to dallas to the airport and was standing there when they brought him off the plane and we escorted him 3 hours to gladewater texas and i wish you could have seen the people standing there on the side of the road there were people with flags and saluting as we drove by and this was all the to gladewater there were people standing on the side of the road when we pulled up to the funeral home and there was people standing when we left the funeral home these people wanted to make sure that this fallen Marine from Galdewater Texas had the best homecoming and that is what we like to see when a community comes together and shows respect for there fallen heroes  I hope that this story has told you a little about the Patriot Guard Riders