This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Motorcycling, Patriot Guard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Long, Slow Burn
Archery, motorcycling, water rockets, and other useless hobbies
I left this morning around 7:30am to get to the Walmart in Canton. There were already around 50 bikes in the parking lot. I met several new friends. There were lots of first time riders there which is good to see. The message is still getting out, and being felt.
We had the normal mission briefing but then something unusual happened. Sgt. Ardron’s wife appeared through the crowd and thanked us for showing support for her husband. Waterworks! We’re there to be of some small comfort, and she’s thanking US! This beautiful young woman will never be healed fully from this. It is our honor to pay tribute to her husband.
Kick stands up at around 8:30 and we had full escort to Sosbee Funderal home. If I was to guess, I would say that there were around 100 bikes rumbling down the road. The service was a short one at about 45 minutes long.
I met a kind gentleman who was standing next to me who served in Vietnam and is almost recovered from Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t get his name. He’s a survivor. He is working hard to overcome his condition. Good luck to him and many others.
The funeral doors opened and Sgt. Ardron was brought to the hearse. I heard sobbing but I didn’t turn to see who. I can’t imagine the hurt being felt by the family and friends. I was crying too.
Full escort to the Macedonia Baptist cemetery which is about half way home for me. There were hundreds of people lining the route, hats over heart, flags flying proud, vets saluting. Sometimes I wonder if its just old biker dudes who are so patriotic and that maybe some do it just to get out and ride … and then you see the support of people of the whole community. It’s a beautiful thing. When I passed a vet, I put my hand over my heart and bowed my head to them. I hope they understood that I was thanking them for their service to their country.
We lined up at the cemetery and gathered close for the burial ceremony. Few words were spoken but the emotions were all there. I looked over to the left and saw Thumper, GA Ride Captain, make her way out of the crowd. She was crying and I think it was too much for her. The 21 gun salute almost scared me out of my wits, and taps made me weep … again.
Shortly thereafter, we were dismissed. I was very proud of the Patriot Guard today, and proud to be a member of such a great group. I was too shaken to head home right away. I was still trying to recover from the emotion of the event, so I stopped in to The Great Wall for some Chinese for lunch. This gave me some time to calm down and regroup.
I hope the next Patriot Guard ride is a long time from now.
UPDATE: Here are some pictures from this mission to honor Sgt. Ardron. Click here.
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