volume 1, number 2 Thursday, February 5, 2009|
MISSION RIDE REPORTS: CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF THE LATEST MISSION RIDE REPORTS |
From the Gazeebo...
WARRIORS' WATCH RIDERS: HONORING OUR FIRST RESPONDERS The Warriors' Watch Riders Vision Statement says, in part, that the Warriors' Watch Riders will "Honor our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, our Veterans and our First Responders equally, recognizing and honoring them all for the heroes they are." We recognize that our first responders are every bit as much "heroes" as are our military members. They, like our warriors, are engaged daily in work that puts them in harm's way, for the sake of protecting us, and our lives. "Heroism" is defined by actions and will. Each day when a policeman walks out the front door and kisses his wife and kids goodby, he does so with full knowledge that it could be for the last time, and yet he goes out the door anyway. Often, when we consider the heroism and sacrifice of our first responders, it is our police and firefighters who we think about, forgetting that third branch of civil defense, the Emergency Medical Technicians. More than once someone of YOU has had to remind ME that in something that I said or wrote I neglected to mention the EMTs. Just today, I received a message from one of you, telling me of an EMT in Northern Illinois who died in the line of duty, died while carrying out his risky work. This is from the website Fire Fighter Close Calls: "This morning about 0145 hours an ambulance with a patient, driver and 2 nurses was traveling North on I-81 at mile marker 59 (Hampden Twp) hit black ice and crashed. As a result of this accident, several ambulances were dispatched to the scene to transport those patients to the hospital. Silver Spring Ambulance was called as one of those transport ambulances. They arrived and they picked up a patent and while transporting the driver (Barry Naugle) suffered a heart attack, went into cardiac arrest and the ambulance went out of control and crashed into a ditch injuring EMT George Weimer. EMT Weimer was taken to Hershey Medical Center for treatment and may be held for 4 days. All efforts were made to save EMT Naugle but was not successful and he died in the Line of Duty....the Silver Spring ambulance was totaled. Our condolences to all affected." We too grieve with the family, friends and fellow EMTs and firefighters of EMT Naugle, and we pray for the speedy recovery of EMT George Weimer. These men are "heroes," BY ANY DEFINITION OF THE WORD, and the Warriors' Watch Riders honor them. Another sorrowful example of the risks that our First Responders take each day recently happened here in the Philadelphia Area, Middletown Township in Bucks County. This tragic incident affects us all the more in that the police here in Philadelphia and in Bucks County have been friends and partners of the WWR from the outset. We ride with them and for them, and they ride with us and for us. God knows that we have seen more than our fair share of fallen police officers here. In fact, it has so often happened that we, the WWR, have been called to pay honors and respects to fallen officers that we have coined a new term for what we do: the "Wheel Line." For those non-riders among us, the police refer to a motorcycle as a "wheel." When Philadelphia Highway Patrol Officer Pat McDonald was brutally gunned down last year, Warriors Watch answered the call put out by the Bullets Motorcycle Club, a club of Philadelphia Police Officers, to mass on the tiny, dark ghetto street where Pat was murdered in order to demonstrate our support for the police and our determination that the violence against them must cease. Utilizing our communications networks we (the WWR and the Bullets combined) successfully mobilized about 250 riders on about FOUR HOURS NOTICE. Together and in a sign of solidarity we rode to the place where Pat died, held a rally there in sight of dozens of uniformed officers, then rode on to City Hall, where we circled City Hall to demonstrate our anger/support, then further rode on to Highway Patrol Headquarters, there to show the men and women on duty how much support they had. At the same time, we put out a call. We were to provide a tribute to Pat McDonald such as the city had never seen before. I coined and put out the call for "1,000 WHEELS FOR PAT, and we went to work spreading the word. A couple of days later, at the funeral, we lined the road leading to the cemetery entrance with ONE THOUSAND WHEELS, accompanied by their owners, holding flags in a solemn display of support. It was an amazing show of compassion and honor on the parts of dozens of clubs and a thousand individuals. Now, tomorrow, sadly, the WWR has been called upon by our friends and our sense of duty to provide yet another "wheel line," along the same road, for the same reasons.
The details of the Warriors' Watch misison (the Wheel Line) for Officer Jones appears below, in the MISSION PLANNING portion of this newsletter. Meanwhile, the Warriors' Watch Riders offer their most heartfeld and pained condolences to the family, friends and fellow officers of Chris Jones. May God grant him rest, and may God grant his family and friends some comfort in knowing that Chris was, indeed, an American Hero. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW MEMBER NEWS!
Warriors' Watch is proud and pleased to welcome a new State Coordinator for the Great State of Georgia, Lonebull! Lonebull (Ron, in Real Life), is a veteran, from Duluth in Georgia, and is our newest Southern Connection. We are looking foward to getting Georgia up and running for the sake of honoring our troops! With Ft. Stewart in Lonebull's territory (home of the 3RD Infantry Divison), we know that he'll be busy, to put it mildly. Welcome Lonewolf! And THANK YOU for stepping up and making a difference. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FORUM ADMINISTRATION NEWS! The explosive growth of the WWR has necessitated the need to break down our State forums into regions. Up until now, each state forum was listed by itself, alphabetically. Now, with over 30 states and chapters in play, we have divided the state forums into four regions. The regions are Atlantic States, Central States, Mountain States, and Pacific States. The REGIONAL COORDINATORS for these new regions are JOHN D. for the Central States and Al (Deuce) for the Atlantic States. Congratulations men, it's a lot of territory! Coordinators for the other two regions are in negotiations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MEETING OF GREATS! MAY BIRTHDAY BASH! There has been much discussion about a big Warriors' Watch Riders BIRTHDAY BASH MEET-AND-GREET. Warriors' Watch will be ONE YEAR OLD on May 1, 2009, and we would like to use that occasion as an opportunity for WWR members from across the country to get together and meet for fun and commraderie. The place of this event, it has been decided, will be Valley Forge, Pa., and the dates would be the 1st and 2nd of May, 2009. It is a fitting location, given that it is that is hallowed ground, made sacred by the blood of the original patriots, the battleground for the very life of our nation. The planning of an event of this magnitued will of necessity be a lot of work, and would also require a financial investment, or, as the WWR does things, "passing the hat." Accordingly, before this planning proceeds, we are attempting to guage the level of interest and intent. On the fourms we have put up a poll in which you can place your vote. It would be very helpful if you would go there to indicate your level of interest and committment to the WWR birthday bash! If the WWR Birthday Bash is held in Valley Forge Pa on May 1 & 2, how likely would you be to attend? Let us know by voting on the poll!
- Wayne Lutz, WWR Founder MISSION PLANNING - WEEK OF THURSDAY, FEB. 5 THROUGH WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11
SEPA: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5 Wheel Line for Officer Chris Jones, Killed in the Line of Duty Middletown Township Patrolman Christopher C. Jones, age 37, died tragically during a traffic stop on Route 1 in Langhorne, PA on January 29, 2009. He was the first officer killed in the line of duty in the 57-year history of the MTPD. He had just been selected for promotion to Detective and would have been promoted in two weeks.
CONFIRMED: FOLLOW THIS FORUM LINK FOR UPDATES
New Jersey: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5 Welcome Home Airman David McIntyre Airman David McIntyre will be honored on Thursday (2/05) evening at 1900 hours at the West Deptford Municipal Building. CONFIRMED: FOLLOW THIS FORUM LINK FOR UPDATES
RECENT RIDE REPORTS Click these links for stories and reports of recent WWR missions and rides: New Jersey: Welcome Home Cpl. Walter Riley
COMING NEXT WEEK: There are already SIX confirmed and FOUR pending missions scheduled in the WWR Mission Planning Forums. Also, look for new ride reports on the missions slated for completion above. Until then: MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THIS, THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO DEFEND HER.
*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:
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Middletown Township Police Officer Chris Jones died on Thursday, January 29, in the line of duty, at the age of 37. In a shattering demonstration of the risky nature of his work and duty, Officer Jones was struck and killed while conducting a traffic stop on Route 1, near the I-95 interchange. As he was returning to his patrol car two other cars collided and careened into his vehicle, which then struck him. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later. Officer Jones had served with the agency for 10 years. He is survived by his wife and three children.
WELCOME NEW STATE, CHAPTER, AND STATE COORDINATOR! WELCOME GEORGIA!
WARRIORS WATCH GENERAL INFO: info@warriorswatch.org
"Warriors' Watch," "Warriors' Watch Riders," and the shield-and-wings Warriors' Watch Logo and the Eagle over Stars and POW Logo are registered trademarks of the Warriors' Watch Riders National Coalition and are owned by Wayne Lutz. They may not be used or reproduced without the permission of the owner. All written materials and photographs and graphics on the Warriors' Watch Riders websites and forums are copyright Warriors' Watch Riders National Coaliton. If you wish to reprint any printed material or photographs you MUST obtain permisison and link back to or print the web address of the source.
Warriors' Watch Riders, founded May 1, 2008
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