Patriot Guard stands for Army Reservist

May 20, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

While I was in Texas in May, some of Dad's fellow PGR buddies rode to Amarillo to honor a fallen soldier. I can't say enough good things about The Patriot Guard as an organization and as individuals... we could all learn something about how they do RESPECT. This is the article about the mission.

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Amarillo, Texas
Peacefully, proudly standing for fallen
By Jon Mark Beilue

One by one, Helen Houseal slowly made her way to each person as they formed a wide semicircle beyond the grave site Tuesday at Llano East Cemetery. A yellow rose in her left hand and an Army escort on her right, she meticulously made her way down the line, shaking each hand and telling them one at a time what it meant to her that they were there for her son.

"There's a reason we wear dark glasses," said Dave Griminger of Childress. "Man, it's indescribable. We're not out there to be thanked. But when it happens, there is a feeling of pride that the family felt honored that we were here today."

Nearly 100 United States flags popped in the breeze as they lined the graveside service of Dr. Matthew Houseal. The Amarillo psychiatrist and Army reservist was one of five killed by an America soldier nine days ago at a mental clinic in Iraq.

Sgt. John M. Russell is being held in pretrial confinement at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, according to Army officials. Russell was taken into custody May 11 after he allegedly opened fire in a counseling center at Camp Liberty, killing five U.S. soldiers, including Houseal.

Among the 100 gathered in Canyon Tuesday were a few women, but nearly all were men. They were veterans, many from Vietnam. They came on Harleys, some as far away as Albuquerque, N.M., and the Wichita Falls area. They had beards, bandanas, leather vests.

Their faces showed the evidence of a hard life. Their hearts the evidence of a giving one. They are the Patriot Guard Riders from the Panhandle-South Plains region.

They were not among the 400 in St. Ann's Church for the funeral. Instead, they lined the outside of the church, standing silently and holding flags. As the service began, they rode their motorcycles with flags flying the 17 miles to Llano East and provided a patriotic outline 90 minutes later as the Houseal family arrived for final honors.

"We want to let the family know that even though this is a very sad time, we're here to honor them and his service," Griminger said. "We're here to provide as much respect, honor and dignity as possible."

Bob Kassin awoke at 4 a.m. Tuesday. He and three others left Clovis, N.M., by 6 a.m. At Hereford, they were joined by two others on the way to Canyon to stand for the Houseals.

Kassin knows what it means. He knows the quiet support seeing American flags flying in a time of grief. His own son, Robert, 29, was killed on July 16, 2006, in Afghanistan.

"To have a group of people offer to stand peacefully to proudly represent my son's service meant the world to me," said Kassin, now a Patriot Guard Rider volunteer. "I feel the camaraderie, the family support of people - and we're all like family. I would hope this family feels the same way and same support we offer that I did."

The Patriot Guard Riders were formed by an American Legion post in Kansas in 2006 primarily as a response to a fundamentalist Kansas sect that protests at Iraq war funerals, claiming the deaths of U.S. servicemen were retribution for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

The Patriot Guard has since expanded to funerals of first responders and veterans.

A funeral service like the one Tuesday for Houseal, an Army major at the time of his death, would not have happened a generation ago. Mental health and stress were ignored by the military in previous conflicts. With 128 suicides among soldiers in 2008, the Army has taken steps to treat the problem. Houseal volunteered to help when in a previous time there would have been no place, certainly not in the battlefield, to help.

Certainly there never would have been a scene like this when these riders were younger men.

That the Patriot Guard is made of mostly Vietnam vets is no coincidence.

One of the most shameful chapters in this country's history was its treatment and attitude of those who returned from Vietnam, either to a job or to a cemetery.

Either way, they were looked upon as agents of an unpopular war. Many were mocked, or at the least, ignored.

"A lot of us are Nam vets, and no one welcomed us home," said Mike Stilwell. "But we do whatever we can whenever we can. It's our honor to do so."

Never again. That's why a soft handshake and a few words from grieving mother mean so much.

"It's - whew - it's hard to describe," Stilwell said. "To be honest with you, it's more than gratification. It's recognition."

Comment: As a proud member of the PGR from Wichita Falls, let me tell you that each of us are proud, honored and humbled to be able to "Stand Tall and Silent" for the families of any Soldier, Veteran, or Civil Servant requesting our presence. We can not always have a large contingent there, but will always do the best we can, because the Family deserves it. God Bless All the Families!
Gary "Buddha" Fortner Thanks for standing tall, Gary...

Source: http://www.amarillo.com/stories/052009/new_news2.shtml">http://www.amarillo.com/stories/052009/new_news2.shtml (dead link)