thedrifter
12-16-07, 07:37 AM
Patriot Guard Riders go to veteran funerals
By Frances K. Foster - The Sheridan Press
Posted : Saturday Dec 15, 2007 17:27:21 EST
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — Riding their motorcycles anywhere in Wyoming to attend the funerals of veterans, the Patriot Guard Riders “stand up for fallen heroes,” said Sheridan Rider Les Meyers.
Established in 2005 by the Kansas American Legion Riders in response to protests by the Westboro Baptist Church and its leader, Fred Phelps, at veterans’ funerals, members check the Rider Web site for funerals in their state that the deceased’s family has approved for Riders to attend, Meyers said.
According to its Web site, PGR’s objectives are to “show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities” and “shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by protesters.”
The riders do not enter the church for the funeral but line the street and hold flags to “keep hecklers away” from those attending the funeral, Meyers said.
Meyers said he has been a Rider for about a year and has attended five funerals in that time, including a couple in southern Montana.
The first funeral he went to was in Casper for a solder killed in Iraq, and Westboro protesters were there with signs such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” Meyers said.
The police helped handle the protesters and kept them away from the church, he said.
He has attended one funeral in Sheridan, which was for Vietnam veteran Bobby Johnson.
Meyers served in the Navy from 1959 to 1962 and was aboard a ship in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962.
He said his ship escorted a Russian submarine back to the Red Sea after the U.S. stopped the delivery of missiles to Cuba.
The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., is “virulently homophobic” and “vents rage at a government that they believe is tolerant of homosexuality,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. It is the same group that protested at Matthew Shepard’s 1998 funeral in Casper.
New members don’t have to be military veterans to join the Riders. The only requirement is respect for veterans, and membership is free, Meyers said.
Ellie
By Frances K. Foster - The Sheridan Press
Posted : Saturday Dec 15, 2007 17:27:21 EST
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — Riding their motorcycles anywhere in Wyoming to attend the funerals of veterans, the Patriot Guard Riders “stand up for fallen heroes,” said Sheridan Rider Les Meyers.
Established in 2005 by the Kansas American Legion Riders in response to protests by the Westboro Baptist Church and its leader, Fred Phelps, at veterans’ funerals, members check the Rider Web site for funerals in their state that the deceased’s family has approved for Riders to attend, Meyers said.
According to its Web site, PGR’s objectives are to “show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities” and “shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by protesters.”
The riders do not enter the church for the funeral but line the street and hold flags to “keep hecklers away” from those attending the funeral, Meyers said.
Meyers said he has been a Rider for about a year and has attended five funerals in that time, including a couple in southern Montana.
The first funeral he went to was in Casper for a solder killed in Iraq, and Westboro protesters were there with signs such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” Meyers said.
The police helped handle the protesters and kept them away from the church, he said.
He has attended one funeral in Sheridan, which was for Vietnam veteran Bobby Johnson.
Meyers served in the Navy from 1959 to 1962 and was aboard a ship in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962.
He said his ship escorted a Russian submarine back to the Red Sea after the U.S. stopped the delivery of missiles to Cuba.
The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., is “virulently homophobic” and “vents rage at a government that they believe is tolerant of homosexuality,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. It is the same group that protested at Matthew Shepard’s 1998 funeral in Casper.
New members don’t have to be military veterans to join the Riders. The only requirement is respect for veterans, and membership is free, Meyers said.
Ellie