Our staging place for the ride to Goodlett Texas, was the RED RIVER HARLEY DAVIDSON dealership in Wichita Falls Texas at 8:30 a.m. I was the first one there, much to my surprise. The temperature was 30 degrees. Here's my bike in the parking lot
Ted was the second to arrive. Ted is the North Texas PGR Ride Captain in charge of the ride to Chillicothe Texas
Ron, a.k.a Polar Bear, arrives and he & Ted talk
This is Paul at the staging area.
Tex arrives. Tex is also a North Texas PGR Ride Captain and co-Ride Captain for the ride to Goodlett Texas. For more on Red River Harley Davidson, see this link: http://www.redriverharley-davidson.com/
The others arrive and we head out at 9:00 a.m. for the 85 mile ride to the Goodlett Texas Cemetery. Here is the obligatory mirror shot. That's Tex behind me and Paul behind him in the Dodge P/u truck
We head North up US 287. The view in front of me. That's Bear in front of me to the left
Here's Ted as he rolls North on US 287
Here is Joe as he heads North on US 287. Joe is also a North Texas PGR Ride Captain.
This is Jimmy rolling North on US 287
This is Floyd heading North on US 287
This is Polar Bear rolling North on US 287. He didn't mind that I was just calling him Bear. He said a lot of guys did.
This is Tex rolling North on US 287. Tex rode Tail Gunner all the way up to Goodlett Texas
We stop in Chillicothe Texas for some coffee to warm up the innards. Here is Bear with his bike. This is his first ride on his new bike, since his accident last year. A lady in a cage pulled out in front of him and sent Bear to the hospital via ambulance.
Those on the PGR Mission from the Wichita Falls area: left to right: Jimmy, Tex, Joe, Floyd, Paul and Bear. Ted was still inside the store getting his coffee and I took the pic. Pic was taken at the gas/coffee stop in Chillicothe Texas
Here's Ted with his hot coffee
Here's Paul at the coffee stop
Here is Floyd at the coffee stop in Chillicothe Texas
Here's Joe with his hot cup of coffee. It had warmed up to about 35 degrees at this point.
Here's Jimmy at the Fina Gas Station in Chillicothe Texas
We gear back up and pull out. Here is the mirror shot as we head to Goodlett Texas, up the road about 30 miles. I am now in the front part of the formation and Jimmy is our leader and will take us to the Cemetery
We arrive at the Goodlett Texas Cemetery
We pull around to the back part of the cemetery and park our bikes
Here are me and Bear at the Goodlett Texas Cemetery
We walk over to where the other PGR members from Childress Texas and the surrounding area are at. This is me and Chell. Chell is the PGR Regional Contact Co-ordinator and the assistant co-Ride Captain for this Mission.
Here is Chell by the Support truck. Those poles have the US Flags that we will use in the static flag line and our PGR member flag line
As we waited for others to arrive, Jim pulls in from Childress Texas. Jim is a member of the Iron Soldiers MC. For more on the Iron Soldiers MC, see this link: http://www.ironsoldiersmc-sm.com/
Here is Grinch, the primary PGR Ride Captain for this Mission.
You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch....
Here are Tex and Ted. Both good friends and well liked by everyone. Both are Vietnam Vets and recipients of the Bronze Star for action there. Tex also was awarded the Purple Heart.
Jimmy, Floyd and Chell at the Goodlett Texas Cemetery
This is James and Billy. Both are with the Childress area PGR
James is also firefighter with the Chillicothe VFD. I know that the area fire deptartments have their hands full this time of year with it being so dry and he has been kept busy.
Here are Jim and Joe at the Goodlett Texas Cemetery
Grinch gets up on the truck and gives the final briefing for today's mission, as Paul and Ted listen in.
The US Army Honor Guard is briefed by their OIC
After our briefing, Grinch, assisted by Paul and Ted, get the flags out of the truck and pass them out.
Chell also designs and makes patches and is very, very good at what she does. The white winged patch on the back of her vest is a design she made and is testimony to her work. I will check with her and see if she makes patches for close friends only or if she does it for the public. If she is public, I will ride to Childress and do a post on Chell and her work and post it in this blog.
This is Rick and he is the Vice President of the area Iron Soldiers MC. Here are their colors.
This is the static flag line that the hearse and family cars will drive by while enroute to the grave site
A picture of our bikes as seen from the static flag line. The wind was a great help in getting some good pictures today.
We then get the flags that we will hold in our flag line and head down to the grave site
This is Billy. He is with the Childress area PGR
Our flag line. The pall bearers will carry the flag draped coffin from the hearse, thru the flag line, to the lift at the grave itself.
The flags looked outstanding today with the help of the wind. That's Billy on the end of the flag line.
Chell was across from me on the road. When the hearse stopped, the front of it would be at our position. We would then move, I would move to the front left and Chell would move to the front right and we would turn and face the rear of the hease while the pall bearers removed the coffin.
This is Grinch and Preacher. Preacher rode in from Dimmit Texas to be on this Mission..
Grinch gives out final instructions as the funeral procession draws near.
The gate that the procession will enter from, is the South gate, marked by a Texas Flag and a US Flag. The South gate as seen from my position in the flag line
As a rule, I do not take pictures during the service and I never take pictures of the family or coffin. After the services, Jim shows me a copy of the plaque that was given to the family of Colonel Hammack from the PGR.
The Group photo from today's PGR Mission. Left to right: Bear, Preacher, Floyd, Paul, Ted, Jim, Billy, Grinch (on the truck), Rick, Chell (on the truck), James, Joe, Jimmy and Tex. I, John, took the picture.
Grinch gives some final words before we take up the flags. Left to right: Floyd, Jim, Paul, Ted, Grinch, Chell, and Joe
Ted slides a flag into a bag as Chell guides it in and makes sure that there are 20 flags in each bag. Billy also helps count the flags
After the flags are loaded, we stand and talk for a while. Here is Preacher
Grinch and Chell thank all the PGR members for being there today and then we all say goodbye and head to the bikes
Jim at his bike. I had just "met" Jim Wednesday night on Facebook and got to meet him in person today. I look forward to serving with him again
We leave the cemetery and get established South Bound on US 287 and head home. Bear is to my immediate front left.
We get to Quanah Texas and stop at Dutch's Restaurant for lunch. for more on Dutch's, see this link: 
Last summer, when we were at the Childress PGR Meet & Greet, Joe got stuck in line at the outside latrine. I looked for Joe in the restaurant and I found him in line for the latrine here, so, I took another picture.. Seems to be a pattern here.. lol see this link: www.jjskewlstuff4.blogspot.com/2010/10/pgr-meet-greet-childress-texas-10-10-10.html
Dutch's Restaurant had a Mexican Buffett set up and one of the guys managed to find this Chicken Fried Steak with beans and mashed potatoes with gravy.
Another one of our riders opted for this plate piled high with assorted Mexican delights.. Check out the jalapeno pepper on top.. I opted for a regular burger from the grill and the food was good and priced right. We will stop there again when in the area. If you viewers are in the area, I recommend you stopping in and grabbing a bite to eat. The food is good, the price is right, the waitress's are friendly and our overall experience there was excellent.
Joe is at the buffett and Bear is walking back to get him a plate of the Mexican fare offered at Dutch's Restaurant
We finish eating and head out and stop down the street to top off our gas tanks for the ride home. Here is Jimmy at the pumps
Joe is topped off and ready to head out.
I catch Ted in the mirror as he tops of his bike and heads to join up with the formation.
As we head South on US 287, we get passed by an 18 wheeler. In front of me are: Jimmy our leader, Joe, and Floyd
Last picture from today's mission is of Tex as we head South on FM 369 in Wichita Falls. He would turn West on US 82 and head to his house. This will conclude this post.It was an honor to be part of today's mission and to stand shoulder to shoulder with my PGR brothers & sister to honor Col. Hammack., a true American hero. It was greet seeing Grinch and Chell again and meeting Rick, James, Jim, Preacher, Billy and Bear. I look forward to seeing them on future Missions and riding with them at future events.
Scroll down for more rides, events and runs and don't forget to click on the "OLDER POSTS" link at the bottom of EACH page or directly under the last post on that page for more of the same.
Continue to pray for ALL of our troops, both in and out of Harms Way, especially for Che Whitaker and Chris Drage, both of whom are serving in the Afghanistan Theatre Of Operations. If you would like your loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan listed on thisprayer list until their arrival back in the U.S., just email me their name and country that they are in. DO NOT send me the name of the base or outpost they are on.
Until next post, ya'll be careful out there, keep the rubber on the road, keep your head on a swivel and most importantly of all....................RIDE SAFE ........................JOHN
No comments:
Post a Comment