PA: Welcome Home Lance Cpl. David Barkley, USMC

Ride Report posted by Lutz

 The missions that we create and attend each come out with at least one story, most often more. But there is always one special, unique moment, event, or action that defines a mission and gives us and our military hero charges stories to tell.

This mission, for Lance Cpl. David Barkley, USMC, will go down as “The Day Officer Murphy (henceforth known by his new road-name of “Moses”) parted the Schuykill River Expressway.”

Officer Murphy "Moses"

It all began when Mary Conboy, my favorite Gold Star Mother, contacted us and A Hero’s Welcome about a neighbor whose son was coming home. David, a fine Marine, was the recipient of medals for valor in combat. He was coming home after demobilizing at Camp Lejune, and his family was psyched, as were we!

We rallied at the Engine 69 Rally point, our brother Firefighters there as hospitable to us as ever. I had asked the mom and dad to meet us there, so that we could all ride in to the airport together, since the airport police always give special treatment to any vehicle that is with us.

Two uniformed officers from the 12 district arrived for the escort, and then came Officer Murphy, also in a car, Philadelphia Police Highway Patrol (the finest, crack HP unit in the nation. See this link if you don’t believe it:

Philadelphia Highway Patrol Drill Team

Officer Murphy is not only a fine HP officer but he is the official driver for our good friend Inspector Tony Boyle. Murphy has been riding with and for us since the early days of that other group, for years now. He has assisted us on more rides and escorts than I can remember. And today, he was about to out-do himself for the sake of our returning warrior David Barkley.

We set out from the Firehouse guarded by the officers and arrived at the airport terminal, where the Philadelphia Airport Police were waiting for us. They had cleard all cars from a large area and we were completely free to stop our bikes and the several cages that were with our group right in front of the terminal doors. A Philadelphia Police Sergeant was waiting to personally escort the mother and father of our Marine up to the gate to greet their son. All was on time.

At Engine 69

As we waited, we spied a young American Soldier waiting in the ticket line. I brushed away the ropes keeping the line straight and approached the young girl. I told her my name, gave her my hand. “Where you going” “Home,” she says, “to Massachutsets.” She was in uniform and carrying her stuff. I put a WWR Honor Coin into her palm, closed her fingers over it and asked her to accept this token of our respect, and our thanks for her service to her nation.

Outside again, we arranged a flag line to greet the Marine as he exited the doors. Inside were the people from A Hero’s Welcome and Mary Conboy and some others who had simply come to pay their respects and welcome a warrior. But with us outside, as we were waiting we found Tim, and did to Tim what he deserved. (Please read the Ride Report directly below this one.)

Finally our hero emerged. Surrounded by happy family members and frineds, we made sure when David came among us that he understood that he had just earned a couple of thousand of new brothers and sisters. I think he ‘got it.’

Next came the interesting part of the day. Our route was to take us a short distance up I-95 to the Platt Bridge, then up I-76, the Schuykill Expressway, to the Roxboro section of Philadelphia. There we would exit, cross the Schuykill river, climb the steep roads to Ridge Ave, and head West. We had been warned and were aware that traffic was extraordinarily heavy, but I wasn’t prepared for the 25-mile parking lot that we hit as soon as we got over the Platt bridge. The expressway was a solid mass of unmoving vehiles.

Philadelphia International Airport

With officer Murphy in the lead of our convoy, his sirens wailing and his horn blaring, waving his arms to tell those ahead to GET OUT OF THE WAY! Slowly, gradually, the traffic parted, half the cars going up against the median, the other half over to the shoulder, and in this way we cut through that traffic like a knife through butter, for 25 miles! Winding into this lane and over to that lane, literally pushing our way through the standsill traffic. Murphy was fantastic! (At one point, a tractor-trailor driver was not cooperating, and Murph cut his car in front of the truck, jumped out and started yelling at the guy, “You want me to take your truck?!?! I’ll take your truck!!!”)

We finally made it and pulled into David’s street with horns and sirens blaring, engines revving. A large group of family and friends were waiting there at the house, and what a spectical we must have made!

Photos, group shots, lots of happy folks. It was a warm-fuzzy moment.

Group Shot, David in Cutout