SNJ: 1/3/2010 – Welcome Home LCPL Gentry Oberman

Ride Report posted for Tool Man

At 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the temperature outside was somewhere in the teens.  By 11:45  it had made it into the low twenties, but with winds gusting at up to 30 mph, you would hardly have known it. Nevertheless, when I arrived at the rally point I found waiting for me an enthusiastic group of die-hard patriots.  Forget the cold.  Forget wind chill.  LCPL Gentry Oberman was home, and we were going to welcome him.  Gentry had flown from Iraq to his base in Hawaii back in September.

From there it was off to Camp Pendleton for leadership training.  He had come home just before December 18th, and this mission was planned for that day. The Obermans would be attending church in Mt Laurel that day, and at the conclusion of services, we planned to be waiting for him as they walked out of church.   On the 17th, Mother Nature exercised her veto power to the tune of 26 inches of snow.

Round two, January 3.  No snow on the roads, just cold and windy.  I was met at the rally point by nine die-hards on bikes, and another six in cages.  In addition to Warriors Watch Riders, we also had representation from Camden County HOG, Burlington County HOG, and Defenders MC. Shortly before KSU our NJSP escort pulled into the parking lot.  We went over some final details concerning the route we would be taking.  I quickly gave a ride briefing, and we headed off to mug and hug our hero.  It was a quick mile to mile and a half to the church.  We pulled in and around to the back parking lot as quietly as it is possible for a group of bikers to do.  Services were just concluding as we parked, and a few people had begun to trickle out of the building.  We quickly formed our flag line and it wasn’t too long before the Oberman’s exited to shouts of “welcome home”.  We treated young Gentry to our famous mug and hug, and asked to escort him home.

As is customary, we had the vehicle containing our hero pull into formation immediately behind our flag bikes, followed by the remaining bikes and cages.  With our NJSP escort in the lead, we pulled out of the parking lot and began to make our way home.  Our route took us along a series of two lane, tree lined back roads, which I was thankful to have as an option as it offered us a bit less traffic to contend with, and possibly a little protection from the wind gusts. Our LEO had made a call or two, and we were quickly joined by two more patrol cars, who ran up ahead of us, blocking intersections.  In time we arrived at the Oberman residence.  As is customary, the Yellow Ribbon Club were waiting for us, accompanied by friends and neighbors, and of course, the Hampton Lakes Fire Department.

The Yellow Ribbons made their usual presentations, and we presented Gentry with our honor coin.  After a few kind words from our hero, we left the familly, friends, and neighbors to enjoy the remainder of their day.  Thank you to you die-hards of the Warriors Watch Riders SNJ chapter who came out, on two wheels or four (especially to those who braved the bitter cold on their bikes).  Thank you to the New Jersey State Police for an excellent escort, and to the Yellow Ribbon Club and the Hampton Lakes Fire Department for their support. Thank you, LCPL Gentry Oberman, for your service to your country.

Respectfully Submitted – Tool Man