I have been an active member of the Patriot Guard Riders since 2018 and try to attend as many missions as I can. Today's mission was one of those that was extra special.
**HONOR MISSION** 8 UNCLAIMED MILITARY VETERANS ROCKY HILL/ MIDDLETOWN, CT FRIDAY 10/01/2021 845AM STAGE
Posted: 28 Sep 2021 05:19 PM PDT
**HONOR MISSION**
8 UNCLAIMED MILITARY VETERANS
VICTOR H ANDERSON USMC KOREA
ORVILLE K DAVIS US ARMY WW II
STEPHEN Y FORRESTER US ARMY VIETNAM
JOSEPH P GALIPEAU US ARMY WW II
LAWRENCE W JORDAN US ARMY WW I
BERNARD J LAFLEUR US NAVY WW II
GEORGE D PARKER US NAVY WW II
LAWRENCE E TEFFT US COAST GUARD/MERCHANT MARINE WW II
ESCORT STAGE
CT DEPT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
287 WEST ST
ROCKY HILL CT 06067
FRIDAY 10/01/2021
845AM STAGE
CEMETERY STAGE
CT STATE VETERANS CEMETERY
317 BOW LA
MIDDLETOWN, CT 06457
FRIDAY 10/01/2021
930AM STAGE
Patriot Guard and Associates;
We have been invited by DVA Commissioner Thomas Saadi to
participate in the Escort and Final Military Honors for 8 Unclaimed
Military Veterans.
CT PGR along with the CT Funeral Directors Association, CT State
Police, Local Law Enforcement, will Escort these Veterans to their final
resting place at the CT State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.
CT PGR will now be the family for these Veterans.
A flagged Vehicle Escort has been requested.
ASC Skip Petras (XXX-XXX-XXXX) will be RCIC for the escort.
We will Stand a Flag Line for the Cemetery Ceremony and Military Honors.
RC Gregg Karal (XXX-XXX-XXXX) will be RCIC at the Cemetery with flags on site.
Any RC that will be attending are requested to bring their flags to the cemetery.
Members are reminded that Personal Weapons are not Permitted on State Property.
Masks are encouraged by the DVA though not required. Members may make their own choice.
God Bless America, Our Troops and Our First Responders.
Every time one of these has come up in the past, I was unable to serve for whatever reason but today's occurred on my regular day off and the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was a somber but joyous ceremony, for eight men whose remains have been in storage at various funeral homes because they were unclaimed. One of them since 1976. Here is a couple of news stories covering the event. If you knew where/when to look... yes indeed... Glypto's mug and bike is there to see. For PERSEC though, I will not give it away.
It was 40 degrees when I left my house so I had on some cold weather gear. We met at the VA Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill. Unlike most PGR missions, there was no waiting around in staging to have coffee or to bullshit with the other members. This was a joint effort between the state VA and the CT Funeral Directors Association. It also involved the CT State Police, Rocky Hill Police, Cromwell Police, Middletown Police, Middletown FD, and military honor guards. All 8 cremated remains arrived in a single hearse, but there were three others provided. Each hearse had the magnetic branch insignia on the drivers door for the respective service branches, so the urns needed to be moved according to the deceased's branch of service. This was done by members of the PGR and the Combat Vet Motorcycle Association, including yours truly. We lined up at the rear of the main hearse, and the president of the CFDA distributed the urns to us. Slowly and deliberately, the CFDA president would pick up an urn, bring it face to face to the waiting personnel. The person receiving the urn would render a salute, do a left face, walk several steps, do another left face, and slowly walk to to appropriate waiting hearse. I walked in a similar way to the Honor Guards at The Tomb of The Unknown at Arlington... that slow and deliberate walk. I did a left face, 3 or 4 steps, then a final left face to hand the urn to the funeral director waiting at the back of the hearse. After the urns were all properly placed, everyone posed for photos in front of the cannons and flagpole in front of the admin building. It was soon time to saddle up for the police escorted procession. There were 2 flagged pickup trucks (one in front, one in the rear) and about 22 bikes in between, followed by the four hearses and the CT State Police motorcycle troopers running as roaming road guards. The town police in Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and Middletown were waiting for us at the larger intersections. We had to do a short hop on the RT. 9 state highway, which was shut down for us to enter and exit unimpeded.
We arrived safely at the cemetery and had a parking area set aside for the escort vehicles and bikes. We parked and headed over to the cemetery Ride Captain's truck to get our flags for the flag line. We lined up about 25 feet from the large tent that was set up behind the speaker's podium. The line was one of the longest I've seen in a while, about 45 participants since there were quite a few PGR members that either don't have bikes or chose not to ride today and were waiting there for us.
In attendance were many veterans groups from around the region. American Legion, VFW, The Marine Corps League, DAV, CT State Honor Guard and others that I couldn't quite tell who they were. The hearses were brought up one at a time to the rear of the tent, and military honor guards brought the urns up one at a time and set them on a special table each with a folded flag. When all were in place, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the National Anthem, and bowed our heads for the invocation prayer. The Master of Ceremony was state DVA Commissioner Saadi. There were 6 speeches including his that were nice and short. Military honors were rendered for all 8 deceased at once, and the Army Honor Guard ceremoniously folded a US Flag. That flag was presented to Commissioner Saadi. It concluded with a closing and a benediction prayer and it was done. We did the usual PGR exit. We stayed in our line, called to attention, did a right face, and marched off single file holding our flags. Only when we get to the RC vehicle to we break rank and disassemble our flags. I have heard directly from mourners over the years that the march off impresses the hell out of them.
You may have missed in the mission notice the reminder "Members are reminded that Personal Weapons are not Permitted on State Property." Well guess what, as usual I was armed. You see, by attending these missions unarmed, not only am I disarmed at the mission (which isn't a big deal since there is usually a police presence), but traveling to and from and while making any stops. I had errands to run afterwards today, so I was not going all the way home to get an EDC and then back out to do my errand. Nor am I going anywhere disarmed. My compromise was having my gun and holster locked in the trunk of "The Beast" while at the VA, riding in the escort, and while standing a flag line. However, after the conclusion of the ceremony and while no one was looking, I strapped on my holster and placed my 45 Shield in it. Since it had warmed up, I ditched my leather jacket, neck covering, and winter gloves. The gun was immediately covered by my vest and disappeared. I rode out right past police in the cemetery and no one was the wiser. Like I always say, my gun sitting safely in my holster harms no one. I do not discuss this issue with any PGR members, and let them all just think I am being a good boy.
