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Patriotic Bikers Show Support To Fallen Troops

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By ANN M. SIMMONS, Los Angeles Times

Published: October 6, 2007

EL CAJON, Calif. - Clad in black leather vests, jeans, boots and bandannas, the bikers stood at attention as pallbearers carried the casket of Army Staff Sgt. Sean P. Fisher inside St. Kieran Catholic Church.

Fisher, 29, who was killed Aug. 14 in a helicopter crash in Iraq, did not know any of these particular mourners, but that did not matter to any of them. They were at the service to show respect, hoist the American flag and support Fisher's family.

'We are here for the young men and women who paid the ultimate price,' said Doyle Tolbert, 64, a retired narcotics officer.
Tolbert belongs to the Patriot Guard Riders, an informal, national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts who attend funerals to pay tribute to fallen U.S. military personnel.

The group sprang up in Topeka, Kan., in August 2005, at first to shield grieving relatives from protesters belonging to Westboro Baptist Church, a fundamentalist congregation in town that pickets soldiers' funerals. Now the riders try to focus their energy more on honoring the dead.

The group says that tens of thousands of motorcyclists nationwide have participated in services as members of the Patriot Guard Riders. They include men and women from all walks of life, including former police officers and postal workers, as well as housewives.

For Tolbert and other riders in California, attending the services means traveling all over the state.

Among the bikers are Gold Star parents, who have lost a child in the military service to war, and Blue Star parents, who have a child currently serving. The riders range from teenagers to pensioners. Some are war veterans. While most ride motorcycles, some drive cars. They all want to show they care.

'It doesn't matter whether you support or don't support the war,' said Jeff Lockhart, 35, national communications officer for the group and a former ride captain for the members in Illinois. 'Even if you're antiwar, at the point where we get involved in a solder's life, it doesn't matter.'

Craig 'Gunny' Donor, 62, a California ride captain, receives the Defense Department's media releases on casualties and then communicates with the appropriate casualty assistance officer dealing with a service member's burial. The group relies on the assistance officers to inform the families about the riders, Donor said.

Prepared For Trouble

Typically, the bike riders and the few cars in their entourage escort the casket from the church to the cemetery. Police and the funeral home set the route. The riders may assist police with traffic at intersections. Sometimes the riders meet the body at the airport and accompany it to the funeral home for viewing.

Donor, a former gunnery sergeant who served in the Marine Corps for 20 years, said the riders' goal is to help things go smoothly on the day of the funeral. He said they are always prepared for trouble, but seek to avoid confrontation.

Donor recalled that protesters representing the Westboro group showed up at funerals he attended in Southern California. Typically, the bikers create a human wall by turning their backs to the demonstrators, linking arms and holding up American flags to keep them out of view. When the protesters shout insults, the riders may bellow patriotic songs, such as 'God Bless America,' or rev their motorcycle engines to drown out the sound.

Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, an attorney for Westboro Baptist Church, called the Patriot Guard 'bitter bikers.' Military funerals were the perfect venue to convey the Westboro message that 'America is doomed,' and the riders were 'a harbinger' of the destruction, she said.

'Everything they try to do to try and shut us up and get us to go away draws attention to us,' said Phelps-Roper, who spoke by phone from Topeka, where the church is headquartered. 'Everyone who sees them thinks of us because they know why they are there.'

The service for Fisher, who was among five soldiers fatally injured when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed during a post-maintenance test flight, did not attract protesters. About 30 riders attended his funeral Aug. 24.

In the courtyard outside the service, Fisher's brother, David Reade, met Donor, a stocky man with a handlebar mustache and a quick smile. The two strangers hugged.

'You guys are awesome in what you do,' said Reade, who considers the riders 'a band of brothers.'

'It's our honor, sir,' Donor replied, looking Reade straight in his eyes. 'Anything we can do, just let us know.'

Taking The Pain Away

Tolbert, who said he served three tours in Vietnam and a tour on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the early 1960s, said he puts everything else aside so he can attend the funerals of fallen California service members.

'If (the family) can look at me and for one instant have the pain taken away, I feel I would have done something to help them,' he said.

Such compassion deeply touched Vernon Torres of Alpine, Calif., whose stepson, Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, 23, was killed by a sniper in southern Baghdad last October. Dozens of riders attended the funeral for Perry, and the outpouring of love from strangers overwhelmed Torres and his wife, Kristen Yuhl. Torres later bought a Harley-Davidson and joined the group.

'It's a privilege and an honor, and it's a way of remembering and honoring our sons,' he said.

Bridget Madison also became involved with the riders after a personal loss. Her 20-year-old son, Army Spc. Spencer T. Karol, was killed in Iraq in October 2003, leaving her grief-stricken.

Madison, 52, said she attended her first funeral with the riders in winter 2006 and that the experience helped her begin healing. Now she typically takes up the rear of the bikers' convoy, driving a white GMC pickup truck adorned with photos of and tributes to her deceased son.

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