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Ride Report For Pfc. Raymond L. Henry Mission:
On Saturday, May 6th, 2006 – Your SoCal Patriot Guard Riders honored Pfc. Raymond L. Henry – At the gracious invitation of his family and friends…
In spite of last minute location changes and the unfortunate circumstances of having four missions scheduled on the same Saturday – 26 PGR members stood together in remembrance of Pfc. Henry – 15 on their first mission…
This mission was one of the most difficult to date. Not just due to the highly emotional service – But also due to the fact there was another service going on at the same time – Which impacted the route from the indoor funeral service to the outdoor military honors. (Traffic flow at the conclusion of the other service would determine which routes would be taken.)
Setting up for a traditional honorary line-up was not possible. It was made VERY clear by the family and the CAO – The PGR was not to disrupt or distract attention from any of the services – So “scrambling” into position was out of the question. And the PGR would not know until the last second which route our fallen hero would be using…
With two possible service routes – And three possible entry points for “Uglies” – We posted lookouts and split our members into groups. (One to cover the front / One to cover the rear entrances) At the military honor service – Your PGR brothers and sisters formed an honor guard by framing a fountain just past our fallen hero’s casket.
A special thank you to Uncle Bob and other riders – Who supported the PGR at the earlier mission at Camp Pendleton – And then made the long ride to Long Beach to support another mission. Their dedication is an example to us all…
Another special thank you to our road guard who kept us safe…
And a final special thank you to our newest members who made time to make this mission their first. We were all concerned our PGR members would be spread too thin – And be unable to fulfill our mission statement due to the lower number of members in attendance.
The calls and emails went out to “beef” up our ranks at the missions – And your newest PGR brothers and sisters responded – Making the low turnout a non-issue…
Even with the hectic four-mission schedule –
Three different “park-and-ride” location changes –
And the difficulty in accomplishing both of our PGR duties –
All PGR members should be proud of their brothers and sisters in attendance –
And eternally grateful to Pfc. Raymond L. Henry for paying the ultimate sacrifice –
For our country –
And our freedoms…
Thanks, Danny – aka “03Chief”
PGR - SoCal Coordinator |