Ride Report: FSgt. William 'BJ' Beardsley, Coon Rapids, MN - 13 Mar 07
Sgt Beardsley was posthumously promoted to FSgt.
This mission was an extension of a mission the prior week in Indianapolis, IN. The IN PGR impressed the family enough to ask that the MN Patriot Guard attend FSgt Beardsley’s Memorial service.
It was an unexpectedly nice March day in MN. Temps were in the low 50’s and the sun was shining. We had 10 motorcycles attend by the time the day was done.
We began staging at 4 pm adjacent to the church. Two local businesses were kind enough to allow us the use of their parking lots so we did not take up the church parking areas. The total turnout was an impressive 66 members.
At 4:30 pm we began our briefing and finished with a prayer by our state Chaplain. The prayer was special as Dianne asked for God’s help in providing a Father figure for FSgt Beardsley’s two young children. It was the best prayer I have heard in years and made a note of that to the group.
At 4:45 pm the motorcycles headed toward the church and those walking followed immediately after. We had 4 volunteers at the entrance to the church drive.
The extended Beardsley family was waiting for us as we arrived at the church. As soon as we set our lines the family applauded us. It was humbling… a bit sad… and hard to imagine in their time of grief that they thanked us in that manner. FSgt Beardsley MN family and children walked our entire line and thanked each member individually.
At 5 pm the family went back inside as their friends and community arrived for the visitation portion. CAO SFC Ewings arranged for a brief gathering in which the ARC’s and State Chaplain attended. Also introduced were representatives of Tribute To The Troops so the family was aware of who they are for their ride later this year. In lieu of a plaque we presented “Mission Accomplished” pins to the family to the family including his children. One of our members also gifted a “Run To the Wall” pin.
One of the touching displays was FSgt Beardsley’s Harley-Davidson memorabilia. His jacket, gloves, and pictures were on a special table and I spent some time reviewing his riding life. Also on that table was the plaque presented to Stacy (Mrs Beardsley) from the Indiana Patriot Guard.
The community was grateful for our attendance and many made a point of shaking our hands and hugging us for being there.
At 6 pm the community moved into the church for the memorial service. One of the ARC’s mentioned that the church was looking for a flag to use in the congregation area. They could not find a stand in the church to use so they were not going to have one. The ARC suggested maybe having some MN Patriot Guard members hold the flags in church. After offering that idea to the church… they asked for 10! We quickly found not just those 10 but 12 veterans to hold their flags in front of the church service area. I peeked inside and was very proud to our MN Patriot Guard Veterans standing at attention during the hour. One made a comment that MN Governor Pawlenty gave him a “thumbs up” while standing there.
At 7:00 pm the service ended and almost all the guests moved to a room where lunch was being served. As I declined lunch so the family could spend time with friends.. the church representative winked at me and said she anticipated that response. The family had ordered extra food to be brought out to us.
After the mission ended many MN Patriot Guard members went to the local VFW for refreshments and others went to a local restaurant as the VFW was full.
Lessons learned:
1. When asking MN Patriot Guard members to stand for an extra hour inside at attention have them removed their jackets and chaps. They were very warm by the end of the service.
2. Keep the members from blocking walkways. We had so many people that we blocked one walk way.
3. Add to our mission briefing script a reminder to “Thank our members for making a choice to attend” so we don’t forget.
It was an honor to provide FSgt Beardsley family comfort and support.
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