Valkyrie  - Norse mythology, one of the maidens of Odin who chose heroes to be slain in battle and conducted them safely to Valhalla.

It was November of 2005 when I first heard of people protesting funerals. Not just any funerals. They were specifically targeting funerals of men and women veterans who died in combat. It made me angry and I wanted to do something. Then I heard of a group called the Patriot Guard Riders. I understood from news reports that they were a counter protest group. A group of riders would form a human shield at the funeral. A shield that would protect the family, friends, and mourners from this protest group. So I found the Patriot Guard Riders website and immediately signed up. Then I kind of forgot about it for a while.

It was May when I was reading the local newspaper and saw the obituary for a local Marine who would be having a funeral that week. It was then that I remembered the PGR website. I went back and checked to see if they had a ride planned for this Marine. Cpl. Richard P. Waller, 22, of Fort Worth, Texas on 17 Apr 06 was my first ride. I had no clue what to expect. Though anything I may have imagined previously was not what was reality.

The day was beautiful as approximately 60 bikes and 3 cars filled the parking lot of the staging area. The mood was somber. Many had been on PGR rides together before and knew the drill. Some were catching up with each other. Other members welcoming and meeting new riders like me. A few were standing alone. Several members mounting poles with flags to their rides. I was a bit nervous and unsure as I was new to everything. I didn’t know anyone. I am especially uncomfortable in crowds. But this was not about me. It was about Cpl Waller. It was about him and all the fallen service members.

There were no protestors. They were all fellow Americans there to honor a fallen Marine. Men and women of all ages, colors, religions, size, heritages, backgrounds and beliefs. Some on bikes and a few in cars. Many were veterans themselves. It was only a few blocks from the staging point to the gravesite. There were still PGR members pulling out of the staging area while some of us were already parking our rides. We all formed a line from the hearse to the tent where the casket would be taken. It was a graveside service.

It was emotional watching the family walk by. Knowing it was his infant child being carried by his wife with their toddle holder her hand. Surrounded by her family members and his family members. I saw them and tried not to internalize it. I’m a Marine. I had to be strong. The Marines then carried Cpl Waller from the hearse to under the tent. Then the services started and the PGR members moved in around the tent and the family. Somewhere along the way I had to step back. I had to go back to where the bikes were assembled. There were several others who had also stepped away. There were also those who had been on rides before and knew they couldn’t stand around the tent so close to hear the services, see the faces, and be so close to what was happening.

Since then I have been on several PGR rides. As a group they are some of the best folks I could hope to meet. Yet always hate that we have to meet under the conditions in which we always do. We are always there as invited guests of the family to show our respect for fallen heroes, their families and the community. As a group we don’t always just attend the funerals. When the funeral is inside most of us choose to wait outside even when the temperature reaches 100 degrees. Many times we escort the fallen service member or veteran from the funeral home to the gravesite. Some of us even acting as road guards for the funeral procession. At one of the funerals that I attended many of the PGR members went to the DFW National Cemetery the day before to raise the flags for one veteran.

I would like to say, “It’s not about me at all.” And feel guilty for admitting that it is. At least it is in my own mind. I was one of the lucky ones. I served and I live now to tell about it. Usually when I crank up the engine and kick the stand up, I’m riding to forget. To forget the real world and the stresses of the war, and all the other ugly things in life. Pushing through the wind as the world passes by.

One the days it’s a PGR ride though, I ride to remember. I remember those who served before me, those I served with, those who served since me, those serving now and all those who gave all. The brothers and sisters I’ll never meet. The Mothers who can no longer hold their son or daughter. The child who will never again hold the hand of their Mother or Father. The Father who thought his child would carry on their legacy and now he is left to carry on the legacy of his child.

Some go on one ride and realize it’s too emotional no matter how much they want to be there. Some push past their experiences and continue to go on PGR rides. There are those who travel hundreds of miles to attend some of the funerals where the PGR is invited. Some take vacation days, go into work late or leave early to honor a fallen hero. Everyone’s reasons are their own. Everyone experiences the rides differently. Even each of the rides I have been on thus far has been different for me.

PGR members were out in the Texas summer heat helping raise 162 flags on 22’ poles. Cloyde C. Pinson Sr. a WWII veteran who was a driving force in establishing the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery. The DFW National Cemetery was established 33 years after his son Cloyde C. Pinson Jr. was killed in Vietnam. Members of the PGR had just led the procession for Pinson Jr. to the DFW National Cemetery just the prior week.

Sometimes the PGR is called upon or volunteers for special missions. The special missions are varied and diverse such as offering assistance to cities and towns hosting the Moving Wall, escorting the Rick Monday flag, send off missions for troops heading to Iraq, participating in Memorial Day parades and events, dedications, homecoming celebrations, visiting VA hospitals and much more.

The main mission is to attend the funeral services of our fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. The PGR has over 40,000 members now. I ride with the PGR out of a sense of duty, honor, respect and remembrance.