PGR MISSION 11-11-08

Today, Tuesday, 11-11-08, was Veteran's Day. I would like to say Happy Veteran's day to my fellow Vets and Job Well Done! Today, we also laid to rest, Lupe Ozuna, a Navy Vietnam Vet. The PGR, (PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS..http://www.patriotguard.org/), was invited to the funeral by the family and below are the pictures of the days' events. Scroll down to view this PGR Mission and REMEMBER: IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICTURE LARGER, JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE...

We had an excellent turnout and this is Ray & Mike in the parking lot of the church

We moved all the motorcycles to Homes & Marconi, to leave room for the cars in the church parking lot. Here are some of the bikes and members milling around prior to setting up the Flag Line of Honor

Another view of the bikes parked on Marconi, across from the Church. The church was: Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church.

A view of the Flag Line of Honor as seen from the corner

A view of the Honor Line looking West

The church sits at the corner of Homes & Marconi

A view of the Honor Line looking back to the East, in front of the church

This is Ted & Mike, (PGR Road Captain), and Louis. Mr. Ozuna, the deceased, was Louis's Cousin..

The Honor Line in front of the Church

Here is Louis. The only time I see Louis is at the PGR Meet & Greets or on a PGR Mission. For all of you that are familiar with this blog, Louis is the brother in law to Doug, who rides the Blue/Black Harley Ultra Classic.

Another pic of Ted & Louis in front of the church.

The Honor line in front of the Church. That is David in the shirt with his leather unzipped and Bud to his right

The line, picture taken from the line, to my left

This is Melin. She had a slight mishap (not motorcycle related) and broke up her right hand. It e looked like it hurt, even bandaged.. That is the fabled Doug to my immediate left

The view from the line as the family enters Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Wichita Falls, Texas

These are our Regional Road Captains & their son, Barbara, Mike & PJ . Louis is to their left . On the PGR Missions, the Road Captains wear the maroon caps and members the blue cap, if they have one.

A view to the South of the line as it curves around the corner to the North

Another picture from the Line as the family enters the church

The bikes line Homes St. as we head towards them to head out to the Cemetery

These two bikes belong to Nubbin & Angela. They will stay here and escort the hearse & family car to the Cemetery after the service is over, along with Gary, Joe & Louis..Gary & Louis rode drag and were Road Guard. They all did a GREAT job.

This is Brenda & Chief. They are working on a PGR website in Oklahoma. PGR Missions aren't just for local members. PGR members travel many miles to attend the missions. That is the dedication level of most PGR members. The PGR was born out of necessity and I am very proud to be a member of this organization

This is Nubbin & his wife, Angela. They escorted the hearse & family car to the Cemetery. They are some really great folks..

My CRS just kicked in and I THINK this is Katie. If not, please email me & I will fix it...I met a bunch of new folks today and I am playing heck trying to remember you all, even if I wrote your name down.

This is the front of Dubbin's Harley. I saw the Anchor & Globe emblem and had to take a pic of it...

Here is a close up of it.. Semper fi See the following links for info on the USMC and the Globe & Anchor emblem. (http://www.marines.mil/Pages/DefaultPage.aspx0 and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle,_Globe,_and_Anchor)

Here we are saddled up and ready to go..

Another of the bikes & PGR members waiting to leave for the cemetery

Here is a picture of Grady & David..We all used to work together on quite a few calls. He is one of the local M.E.'s (Medical Examiner)

Here is Barbara heading to her bike

Another view as we get ready to go..

This is Bud. We worked together for years...He has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around

Here are Doug, Brenda & Chief right before we headed out

The last picture of the Church itself before we left. I had to take this to make sure I spelled Guadalupe right

We leave the Church and head across town to the Sacred Heart Cemetery. Here we are Westbound on Kell (US 82)

A view to the rear as we continue westbound down Kell Blvd.

Another view to the rear as we go down Kell towards the cemetery. That's David on the white bike behind me

We turned North on Wenonah and this is the view of the riders behind me..

The view in front of me as we head North down Wenonah

We get to The Sacred Heart Cemetary, park the bikes and then head to Mike & Barbara. Mike has the furled flags we use, in the bed of his pickup

This is Ted & me.. Ted's daughter, Vicki, lives in Ft. Collins Colorado and she is a frequent viewer of the blog, so, just so she can keep an eye on her Dad, I get pics of him at most of the events we attend and then post his pics on the post. Ted told me today that Vicki's coming down here to Wichita Falls in about two weeks. So, you'll all get to meet Vicki on an upcoming post, because Tede & Inez are going to introduce me to her and I will get pics on the post of her & her mom & dad...Drive safe heading down here Vicki!!

Here is a picture of Ted. I met him earlier this year or at the end of last year on a PGR Mission. He & Inez (his wife) are great people and I enjoy riding with him

Ted & me.. Bud was taking the pictures and I gave him some slightly erroneous info on the operation of the camera...Thats why the three pics of Ted & me

Ted & John...Take three!!

There was a Navy Honor Guard there at the Cemetary. This is Russell & Gordon. They folded the flag on the casket and presented it to Mrs. Ozuna

This is Russell, Paul & Gordon.Paul blew TAPS on the bugle at the conclusion of the graveside service. These three sailors did a very professional job, were professional in bearing and actions and a credit to the U.S. Navy. They are to be commended for a job well done!! Thank you, Russell, Paul & Gordon for all that you do in service to our country and in keeping us, the citizens, safe and out of harm's way... For more on the US Navy, click this link: (http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp)

The line at the cemetary

The line at the cemetary

The line at the cemetary prior to the hearse & family arrival

This is Cecil, our other PGR Regional Road Captain

A view of the line at the cemetary and the last picture I took at the cemetary.

Following the funeral, several of us went to the Parkway Grill to eat. Went we arrived we saw this..A motorcycle officer had pulled a lady over and was giving her a ticket. So, I went and got a picture of one of the new police Harley's with the 110 cu in Screamin' Eagle engines

While the officer was writing out the citation, David took this as a photo op and sat on the officers bike

Here is the Officer, Chris, giving his victim, Kim, a citation. I talked to Kim after Chris had left and she was in very good spirits. I even told her I had it recorded and she could view it on the post. She got to smiling and I gave her one of the NTB cards...Thanks Kim for being cordial and friendly especially after your terrifying ordeal with Officer Chris... :)

Here is Officer Chris and his Police Motorcycle. These guys are lucky. When I was a motorcycle officer, for three years, back in the 80's, we had to ride the Kawasaki KZ1000's and the powers that be thought Harley's sucked..Now they have new leadership. Hence, the Harley's...

Some of the PGR members that went to the Parkway Grill. This s Moe..

This is Moe & her husband Dennis..

This is Kirby & Jody..

This is Ashley & her mom, Melin..Melin, you'll remember, is the one with the broken right hand

This will conclude this post. I would like to thank the following PGR members for being there today and pass on a Mission Accomplished!! PGR folks attending today's mission that I got names of are: Gary, Louis Joe, David, Grady,Ray, Bud, Mike, Ted, JB, Angela, Mark,Katie, Bob, Sparkchaser, Jody, Kirby, Dennis, Moe, Ashley, Brenda, Chief, Mike & Barbara, PJ, Cecil, Doug, Melin & Tex, Russel, Paul, Gordon. If you were there and I didn't get your name or I got it and it is one of the ones I wrote down and can't read (getting old sucks!!), please email me with your info & I will edit it in..

I enjoyed meeting a bunch of new people today and I enjoyed riding with them, even under the circumstances that brought us together. But it is ALWAYS good to ride with fellow PGR members and other motorcycle folks, no matter what the reason. Scroll down for more rides, events & posts and be sure to click the "older posts" link at the bottom of EACH page for more posts back to January 08. Until the next ride/post, ya'll be careful out there ride safe & keep the rubber on the road..........................JOHN