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Daddy's with God Now
by haystack

These were the words I and some of my fellow Patriot Guard riders heard from Capt. James A. Funkhouser's 2 year old daughter just after his Full Military Honors Funeral Service on Friday 9 June 2006 at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetary.  These simple words from a very young little girl ran through me, and welled my eyes up with tears; of sadness for his loss, and hope for her future.

Capt. James "Alex" Funkhouser, 35, of Katy Texas was killed by a VBIED (vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) on 29 May, 2006 in Baghdad.  From 4th Infantry News , written by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, 4th BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div. , I share the Military News version of the events on the day Jennifer and their 2 daughters, aged 4 and 2, lost their Daddy in Iraq.

[Read on.]

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Posted by Bill Faith on June 12, 2006 at 05:39 AM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Copied from this post, with permission. For the whole story, click here and here and just keep scrolling. Meet some fine people.

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This was my first, and hopefully, last mission with the Patriot Guard. 

Outstanding people, outstanding honor, and my thanks to you.  My wife and I have a son in Iraq, and if, God forbid, anything ever befalls him, I hope and pray that the Patriot Guard will help bring him home, and escort him to his resting place.   

Thought I would share with you a note from a Mick White from the area who wrote the following.

Mike and Nancy Blythe

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Subject: FW: A soldier. A hearse. A hero.

This came from a friend of a friend.

I had to send this on...  jenni

Tonight (May 30th) I had the unfortunate honor to ride in a motorcade of motorcycles escorting a funeral processional for Private First Class Caleb Lufkin, a 20 year old soldier.  I never met him.  He and I shared some mutual friends.  I have had friends serve this country.  Some came home.  Some didn’t.  Tonight, full sentences can’t describe my emotions, my thoughts, or my patriotism.

State troopers saluting.  Fog.  A cool breeze.  A civil defense alarm.  Friends.  Families.  Neighbors.  Strangers.  Old.  Young.  Men. Women.  High school girls crying.  Grown men weeping.  Bagpipes.  Choirs.  Amazing Grace. 

Breathtaking. 

Traffic stopped for 15 miles.  On Interstate 74.  Through Knoxville, East Galesburg, Galesburg.  Silence, yet the sound of the low rumbling of over 60 motorcycles.  The father of the fallen soldier joined the motorcade on a motorcycle just outside of Knoxville. 

Unbelievable.

Thousands upon thousands of people.  American flags.  Large.  Small.  Waving.  Held dearly.  Each person silent. 

Yet, each person wanting to say so much, but not sure how else to say it. 

How do you thank a soldier?  How do you express your heartfelt gratitude?   How can you ever repay someone you never met?

Signs everywhere.  Caleb, our hero, our friend.  Gone but not forgotten.

Humbling.

Little children saluting.  Boy Scouts standing at attention.  Sailors in full dress, saluting.  Servicemen of all types, saluting.   Men with hats held over hearts.  Respect.  Gratitude.  A man I will never forget.  A former soldier.  Maybe 75 years old.  Intersection of Losey & Henderson Streets.  Holding a flag.  Honoring a fellow soldier.  Knowing how it feels to lose a brother in arms. 

The eeriness of the candles.  The sorrow filled faces.  People of all walks of life.  Businesses empty while the patrons observe.  Traffic stopped.  Trains reversing course. 

The broadcast of it all on the radio. 

The overpasses filled with fellow countrymen.  Honoring a fellow American.

The overwhelming magnitude.

Thousands upon thousands of people.  People PFC Caleb Lufkin never met.  But lives he protected.  Lives he touched. 

How many people can say they have touched so many lives as PFC Lufkin?  How many people can say they impacted thousands of people?  To search deep inside.  To refocus on life.  To make this country a better place.  America. 

The land that I love.  God bless it.  And God Bless PFC Caleb Lufkin. 

 

Mick White

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More good links here, here and here

Posted by Bill Faith on June 3, 2006 at 04:21 AM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

By email from George "Rurik" Mellinger:

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Completed my first Mission with Patriot Guard Riders today. The funeral for LCpl. William Jay Leusink of Sioux Center, Iowa, had to be held in the high school gymnasium. It appears as if the entire town suspended activity for the occasion. Those who were not inside were awaiting on the street corners as we drove past to the graveside ceremony. In addition to the PGR, there were delegations form veterans' organizations from across the SoDak- Nebraska - Iowa area. 

LCpl Leusink enlisted in the Corps even before completing his senior year, and began active duty just after graduation, and had been one of his class student leaders.  Combat tours in Afghanistan and then Iraq. The turn-out demonstrated that those who knew him thought he was someone truly special. He was. He was a US Marine, fallen in combat. That's as special as they come.

May his memory be eternal.

- Rurik

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I've posted the remainder of the pictures Rurik sent me here.

Rest in peace, Marine, Thank you. That Final Inspection will be a snap.

Posted by Bill Faith on May 31, 2006 at 04:03 AM in Patriot Guard Riders, Rurik | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Continued from Goodbye To A Hero. Echo9er has background information here.

CH-47 Missing Man Formation. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Donaldson died in the co-pilot's seat of a CH-47:

(Continued "below the fold")

The above two pictures were taken at the very end of Chief Donaldson's funeral. Everything from here down is in chronological order.

The first thing I saw as I exited I-70 at Altamont Tuesday evening.  btw, that's my car on the left with the large flag stickers in the back side windows.

The hearse bringing Chief Donaldson's body home took the same exit I did, drove up through Altamont and turned on U.S. 40 toward Effingham. The Patriot Guard Riders in attendance were waiting in a church parking lot right across from the above sign and fell in behind the hearse as it passed.

Not an uncommon sight at all on the drive through Altamont , Effingham, or anywhere in between.:

Also common as we passed through the countryside:

The Effingham Fire Department shows its respect at the funeral home:

A few scenes from our Friday Morning assembly point:

We traveled from there to a church parking lot about a third of a mile from the funeral location and walked from there:

Looking toward the church from the side of the road the phelps-slime was restricted to. I'm about 50 feet farther north than they were allowed.

Looking south from the same spot:

The slime is back through there somewhere. Couldn't prove if from my location. The church is straight behind me, about three times as far from it as I am. You'll note that after most of the mourners had passed by and the slime showed up the Riders lining the highway turned their back on the slime and faced the church.

Looking back toward the church from part way up the short drive to the cemetery shortly before the end of the funeral service.

I don't do caskets-and-mourners pictures -- I know we can count on the MSM to keep doing a fine job of that -- so the picture above was the last one I took except for the two at the top of this post.

There are more pictures here on my Photobucket site, but nothing that isn't similar to something above. There are also pictures and links scattered through the discussion threads here and here. I swiped the picture below (That's me closest to you with the coffee.) from this site for instance.

This will not be my last PGR mission but from now on I'm going to have to recognize my limitations. I'd have been fine without that walk from where we parked to the funeral but I should have known better than to think I could do that and not have problems. Next time I promise to be smarter.

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Promoted from the comments 2005.06.21

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Great picures and report Bill. Thanks for your efforts and your attendence. Yes, limitations, as we grow older, our bodies betray us, while in our minds we sometimes forget that.

My best wishes go to Chief Donaldson's family and my thanks and respect for his service and sacrifice. My thanks also for his community.

Papa Ray

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Excellent photos. If I could figure out how to trackback I'd do it but will put a link to this post in my blog instead.

Chuck

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Bill,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the Patriot Guard. I only hope that the Donaldson family realizes all the people that are behind them in this time of sorrow.

Rose
Ride Captain
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Donaldson’s Mission
Rest in Peace dear Christopher

Rose Connolly

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I just want the family and friends of CWO Donaldson to know I did not know Chris but I will never forget him or how I wanted so bad to be there to honor him . I own a business and it just did not allow me to be there. Memorial day 2002 I tattooed Never forget 9-11 on my arm . I intend to honor him and all the great soldiers like him in the same manner. Let him rest in peace . Thank You CWO Donaldson.

Joe Tracy

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Don't miss Mudville's latest Open Post.

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Bumping for Memorial Day. Originally posted 2006.05.21

Posted by Bill Faith on May 29, 2006 at 12:17 AM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

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In Memory of:

Sgt. Brandon Lee Teeters
http://www.daily-review.com/
http://www.patriotguard.org/Forums/tabid/61/postid/88575/view/topic/Default.aspx

This email is in memory of one our nations finest, Sgt. Brandon Lee Teeters, and his wounded comrades. I had the honor of attending his funeral yesterday in Morgan City, La. as a veteran and a member of the Patriot Guard Riders. Although I did not know Sgt. Teeters personally, being a veteran, I hold a very close bond to him and his brave and badly wounded Band of Brothers who were present. Honestly, it's been a long time since I have felt the emotion and honor experienced upon meeting Sgt. Teeters fellow combat wounded.

His fellow brothers were with him on that fateful day in Iraq and had to endure great physical pain just to make it to his funeral. They drove and flew in from all points of the country. Some defied doctors orders and came to his funeral anyway. That not only says a lot for Sgt. Teeters, but for these fine young soldiers. After all, those who fight, not only defend our nation, but in the heat of battle, fight for each other. They become closer than most people will ever experience.

As badly wounded as they were; burned, ripped by shrapnel, bandaged, and grafted, they held their honor completely intact. Some would think them to be bitter, however this is not the case. An informal poll  found they still strongly support our country's efforts in Iraq. Some of the less wounded will be shipping back to their unit in Iraq as soon as they can heal. They want to rejoin their unit, B Troop, 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry division (Mechanized), as soon as possible. Damn, I am proud of all of them.

When faced with the unending barrage of daily leftwing antiwar propaganda, it is very rewarding to know we have such fine men and women defending our nation. They are all volunteers. My personal opinion is that most of those who so righteously speak out against the war, thusly demean our hero's valor and give aid and comfort to the enemy. 

It is with these thoughts that I must also bring to your attention the "Blue Star Mothers" in attendance. What a wonderful group of ladies. Please say a prayer for them, and their sons and daughters. We certainly appreciate you.

Thank you Patriot Guard Riders < http://www.patriotguard.org/ >. It was an honor to meet all of y'all yesterday. Hopefully we'll not have to meet again for such an occasion.

With the greatest respect to Brandon and his family,

William & Sharon Page
Patriot Guard Rider members

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William "1stCav" Page with two of the Soldiers who were wounded by the same IED that killed Sgt. Teeters.

William sent me some more pictures I'll add to this post later. For now I want to get this much up and I'm wearing out fast enough the rest of the pictures may have to wait till tomorrow.

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Don't miss Greyhawk's latest Open Post.

Posted by Bill Faith on May 24, 2006 at 11:22 PM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson was laid to rest with full military honors, including a 3-aircraft CH-47 flyby, on Friday 19 May 2006 in a peaceful little cemetery just outside the quiet little town of Shumway, Illinois. May he rest in peace.

The slime showed up as promised but left before the funeral began. Looking toward its allocated location from the church entrance nothing was to be seen but a sea of American flags and American patriots. Nothing was to be heard except the engine and rotor noise of an Illinois State Police helicopter, there, apparently, to protect it from big bad scary bikers. The helicopter left almost immediately after the slime did, possibly to guarantee its safe passage out of the area. After the slime left, the Patriot Guard Riders in attendance held their stations till nearly the end of the funeral, then regrouped to provide an alley of flags along the short drive from the church to the adjoining cemetery, then regrouped again to help provide an appropriate backdrop for the graveside services.

In my entire life (I turned 56 today) I cannot recall ever being associated with a finer group of people than the ones I spent my morning with. Click here to learn more about Patriot Guard Riders, then please give serious thought to joining this fine organization. You don't have to be a biker, or a veteran, or anything else in particular to join. You just have to care. You do care, don't you?

I'll try to get some pictures from the Chief Donaldson mission up soon, assuming they came out OK. Right now a big day is beginning to catch up with me.

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The pictures I promised are posted here.

Posted by Bill Faith on May 19, 2006 at 07:39 PM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

The full text of an email from Chris Brocksmith of Patriot Guard Riders:

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Received a phone call immediately after the Governor signed this today.  Thank you Illinois for this minimal tribute to our fallen hero.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2006

Gov. Blagojevich signs “Let Them Rest in Peace Act” allowing families to peacefully grieve fallen soldiers
New law makes protesting within 200 feet of a funeral or memorial service a crime

SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed a new law to shield grieving military families from protests during funerals and memorial services of fallen soldiers.  Senate Bill 1144, the “Let Them Rest in Peace Act,” requires protesters to stay at least 200 feet away from family and friends as they mourn soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Governor signed the law today after learning of a potential protest at the upcoming funeral of an Effingham man who was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan earlier this month.   Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, who have staged numerous disruptive and disrespectful protests during funerals for fallen soldiers, told local authorities and state officials they plan to picket Christopher Donaldson’s services, which will take place on Friday. 

“It is unfathomable to me that anyone would stage a protest at a funeral.  How can any decent person think that disturbing a family grieving the death of any loved one, let alone the death of one of our soldiers, is acceptable?  It’s not, and the law I’m signing today makes that clear by making protesting within 200 feet of a funeral a crime in Illinois,” said Governor Blagojevich.

“No grieving military family should be subjected to vile epithets and disruptive protests at the funeral service of their loved one who has made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” said Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, who has attended every funeral of fallen Illinois soldiers from the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The Let Them Rest in Peace Act protects the First Amendment religious rights of families to bury their dead with reverence and dignity, and everyone in the Land of Lincoln believes in this fundamental principle of human decency.”

The “Let Them Rest in Peace Act,” an initiative of Lt. Gov. Quinn sponsored by Sen. Arthur “A.J.” Wilhelmi (D-Crest Hill) and Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg), was created in response to a series of disruptions at funeral services for Illinois military personnel in the past year, and applies to all funerals and memorial services in Illinois. 

The new law protects grieving family members and friends by putting a 200-foot privacy zone between the funeral site and protestors who sing loudly, play music, chant, whistle, yell, or make any other type of disturbing noise. SB 1144 also prohibits protesters from displaying any visual images that convey fighting words or threats against any other person, and makes it illegal to knowingly obstruct a person’s entry or exit from a funeral site. Disruptive and inflammatory protests will be prohibited 30 minutes before a funeral, during a funeral, and 30 minutes after the funeral within that 200-foot privacy zone.

“It is unfortunate that we have to pass legislation like this, but it is so important so families can grieve their loved ones in peace, without the interference of disrespectful protesters,” said Rep. Phelps.  “We all value our right to free speech.  But there are appropriate times and places to protest, and a funeral is not one of them.  This legislation will finally help ensure that recent disruptive protests during the funerals of some fallen soldiers won't happen to other families in Illinois.”

“It is our intent with this legislation to protect the rights of families to grieve peacefully for their loved one who has been killed fighting to protect our freedom,” Sen. Wilhelmi said. “I’m happy to have worked with Lt. Governor Pat Quinn on this important initiative.”

A first time violation of the Act is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, which is punishable by one to three years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000.

The new law is effective immediately.

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I was privileged to be allowed to tag along with the Patriot Guard Riders as they escorted CW2 Chris Donaldson's body the last several miles to the funeral home Tuesday evening. Lord willing I'll also be there for the funeral Friday morning. I understand the Phelps gang has informed the Effingham County Sheriff that they still plan on showing up Friday but will comply with the new law. Patriot Guard riders will provide a wall of flags between the protestors and Chief Donaldson's family as well as providing a proper escort from his funeral to his gravesite. I may or may not post some PGR pictures from Tuesday night and Friday when I feel up to it emotionally. If you're looking for "casket and grieving family members" pictures you'll have to look somewhere else.  May he rest in peace.

Posted by Bill Faith on May 18, 2006 at 03:14 AM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

My daughter and I don't see eye-to-eye on some things, George Bush and the war in Iraq for instance, but there are still some very important things we do agree on. Check out the email I got from her this morning:

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I'm sure you saw this already but as I sit here overwhelmed by tears, I wanted to share. The Patriot Riders embody everything I love about this country - ingenuity, stubbornness, pride, and compassion. And they also embody my highest truth in life, "We must be the change we want to see in the world." (Ghandi). I'm glad these guys exist. They've helped more people than just the families of the soldiers they protect. They've helped me too by reminding me of the things that really matter in life.

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Here's what she wanted to make sure I saw. Click the image to read the CNN news item that goes with it.

Click here, then click the "Register" link in the upper right corner, to join Patriot Guard Riders. Make a difference in the world.

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Andi has another excellent picture, and an excellent post to introduce it, here. (Tissue alert.)

Posted by Bill Faith on March 7, 2006 at 04:59 PM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I have pensionday errands to go run so I'm going to have to settle for just doing a quick link on this. Click here.

I signed up with Patriot Guard Riders a few days ago and if I I feel up to it at all I'll try to be in Kokomo Monday. -- No firm promises due to my health problems.

Posted by Bill Faith on March 1, 2006 at 03:41 PM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Patriot Guard Riders Pass 10,000 Membership Mark

Who says nobody cares any more? There's a link on my sidebar if you'd like to get involved.

Posted by Bill Faith on February 28, 2006 at 02:13 AM in Patriot Guard Riders | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack