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From the Gazeebo...  

WWR: HONORING THE FALLEN BY SUPPORTING THE LIVING

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." - George S. Patton

"Foolish and wrong," perhaps. But we love our troops, and while we honor them for daring to risk it all for an idea called "freedom," we nonetheless are stabbed through the heart when they acutally fall to that duty. They are so young, so noble, so full of life and strength of character.

It has been shown, again and again, that what our troops want most while in harm's way is to know that they are supported by the people back home. Supporting the troops means supporting their mission. The two cannot be separated. The images in the media of protestors shouting "against the war" do nothing but demoralize our troops, and in that sense such protestors are the domestic enemies against whom we fight here on the homefront.

Not that the WWR is "political." It is not. But everything is "political" in some way, and if the loud and ostentatious support of our soldiers, sailors, Airmen and Marines is considered by someone as "politcial," then so be it.

In fact, another of my favorite Patton quotes is "Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time." And that's what the WWR does - we support out troops LOUDLY and COLORFULLY and IN THE NEWS and IN YOUR FACE. We suport our troops with flags waving and throats cheering and chrome pipes ROARING, wearing our colors and waving our colors and shouting our love. We do our DAMNEDEST to support our troops and we do it in an OSTENTATIOUS manner ALL THE TIME. THAT, boys and girls, is the WWR. "Loud and ostentatious" could be our motto.

We do this for a couple of reasons. For one, we want the Warrior who we are honoring to know how much we care about him. But more, we want the entire world to see us doing this. We want the news there and we want the passersby to see us and we want the passing cars to honk and pump their fists. We want this because we want to EDUCATE the public. We want to teach, or more likely just "remind," them of what is really important in life. Meeing a celebrity or a sports star or a natinoallly known politco is interesting. Meeting any one of our nation's Warriors is an honor. That is where our values lie, that is what we consider important, and we want more and more Americans to join us in this world view.

This is how we support our Warriors. And as we support our warriors, so do we honor the fallen. If they know that we believe in their mission, which we demonstrate by our actions toward the living, then those who fall will not have died for nothing. They will rather have laid down thier lives for an ideal that we, the people, believe to be more important than life itself - the preservation of freedom - the ongoing struggle for human liberty.

I'd like to tell you a story about a Welcome Home mission we did just a few days ago here in Philadelphia and New Jersey. It was a beautiful Fall day, some early rain and cloudiness having given way to blue skies and floating white clouds in 70 degree temperatures. The New Jersey Warriors' Watch Riders had a mission to escort a Marine from the Philadelphia International Airport to his home on the other side of the river in New Jersey. The ride, RC'd by Paulie B, introduced an unexpected element that resulted in our witness of a dichotomy of homecoming types that knocked the air out of our collective lungs.

We had a large turnout that day. Between the Pennsylvania WWRiders, New Jersey WWRiders, Washington D.C. WWRiders, the family, and the members of A Hero's Welcome, which included two distinguished guests from the Marine Corps League, there were about 50 patriots present to welcome home Marine Corporal Adam Oppido. We roared into the arrivals terminal with the usual free pass from the patrotic Airport Police, poured inside and lined up along the stairwell that runs parallel to the escalator, forming a Welcome-Home-Gauntlet through which our hero must pass. As we were waiting, one of our members alerted me to the presence of another military man, Army, on the other side of the baggage area. This alert WWRider told me that the soldier was a military escort, and with him were the mother and father of a fallen soldier. I went over quickly and spoke to the escort, an SFC. He confirmed that yes, he was with the parents of a fallen soldier, PFC Brandon Owens, who had been shot and killed along with four other soldiers in Iraq.

The escort and Mr. and Mrs. Owens were on their way to Dover to pick up Brandon's body, and from there would escort the body to their home in Memphis, Tennessee. I knelt down before the mom and dad, and pressed a WWR Coin into the father's hand, and I asked them, when they looked at the coin, to be reminded of how much we, and all of the American people, care about their terrible loss, and honor Brandon's ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of mankind. I rose and shook the SFC's hand, gave him my card and asked him to keep in touch. His eyes were filled with tears.

I returned to our side of the baggage area just in time to see our hero Adam descending the escalator with his family to the cheers and shouts and backslaps of the WWRiders. When Adam got thorough the gauntlet, I told the assembled Americans what was on the other side.

Here we had a Warriors coming home, and there was joy and celebration. Just over there we had anotehr Warrior coming home, and there was grief and sorrow. Two American Warriors, two homecomings of a very different sort. Each of them could easily have come to be in the place of the other.

What a terrible contrast.

As we, the group, approached the other side of the baggage area, we all made a bee line for the Owens'. Then, one at a time, each and every WWRider present hugged each of the parents, and the Military Escort, in turn. There were so many of us that this took at least 10 minutes. The military escort could hardly maintain his composure.

Waiting in line to comfort the partents was, of course, Corporal Adam Oppido and his family. As they waited I said lightly to Adam something like "sorry to interrupt your homecomeing." Like the true American Military Hero he was, he said to me that this of course was "more important." The hero gave up a portion of his happy welcome to console the family of one like him, also home, in a much different way.

There was a lesson here for us all, and I believe that all of the WWRiders present took the lesson in his or her own way. For me, I wondered to myself if indeed the greeting of the parents of the fallen soldier was indeed "more important" as Adam said. "More important," perhaps, but certainly different. Just as important, I believe, was our welcome, our joyous welcome, of Adam, because as I have said, we honor our fallen by supporting the living. In our support of Adam, we showed honor to the sacrifice of Brandon and others like him. This I truly believe.

It was to be another 48 hours before we would finally see the Department of Defense Press Release announcing the death of PFC Brandon Owens:

"Pfc. Brandon A. Owens, 21, of Memphis, Tenn. He was assigned to the 118th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C."

As you go through your day today, remember Brandon Owens, and his mom and dad, and that sad military escort whose duty was so hard. Remember all of those who have died, so that others like us may live as free people. And remember the words of General Patton. We are only human, with human weaknesses and failings. "Wrong and Foolish" though it may be, we cannot help but mourn with the parents of Pfc Brandon Owens. But remember also to "thank God that such men lived."

- Wayne Lutz

CORRECTION: ON BROTHERHOOD

Last week I penned an essay (I object to the word "keyboarded") on brotherhood, and the inherent risks that "bikers" take, as well as those shared values that make us a "brotherhood." A reader responded, pointing out to me that some of us are not, or perhapes used to be, "bikers" but still consider the brotherhood. I apologize for not making myself more clear - It had been my intention to say that our sense of brotherhood exists not only because of shared experiences but more for shared values.

It isn't the fact of being a "biker." It is the values that we share, and it is our love for our troops that forms our brotherhood.

SEND A CARE PACKAGE TO OUR TROOPS

If you are looking for an easy way to support our troops, look no further than my favorite troop-support fund, the Adam Conboy Fund's "Operation Bedding." Since its founding three years ago by Gold Star Mom Mary Conboy, Operation Bedding has sent over 10,000 care packages to troops. They know the ropes, they know what's needed. For $20, Operation Bedding will pack and ship a care package in your name to a Warrior who needs it most. Go to the Operation Bedding website to get yours!

CONTINUE TO SERVE OUR TROOPS. HONOR THE FALLEN BY SUPPORTING THE LIVING.

Some people go to their graves wondering if their having lived made any difference in the world. If you are a WWRider, you will never need to wonder. You will KNOW beyond doubt that your actions made a difference in the world, in the lives of our troops and their families.

Please check the Mission Planning Forums for upcoming Welcome Home rides - we need your support! The Mission Planning forums can be viewed even if you are not registered on the forums. However, if you have NOT YET REGISTERED ON THE FORUMS, PLEASE DO SO NOW to ensure that you do not miss any of the excitement, planning and discussion of this upcoming activity! Click on this link and register on the forums now!

Until next time: MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THIS, STILL THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO DO, HAVE, OR WILL DEFEND HER, AT HOME AND ABROAD.

- Wayne Lutz

*This newsletter is named "The Weekly Ride" or "The Ride", for short, in memory of and to honor Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, U.S. Army. Sgt. Hartman was killed in Iraq by America's enemies. She died in defense of our freedom at the age of 20. This quote from Jennifer was read at her graveside:

"It's not about what happened in the past. It's not about what might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake."

Click here for a Tribute to Sgt. Jennifer Hartman: "The Ride"