A fallen hero remembered
A somber return home By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The body of 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones, of Westminster, is escorted by a Military Honor Guard after arriving at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, while members of the Patriot Guard salute the fallen soldier. Jones was killed by a roadside bomb while on duty in Iraq last week and will be memorialized this Friday and Saturday.

Only the whirl of the airplane's motor and the sounds of blowing American flags broke the silence as the casket carrying 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones' body arrived at Hanscom Air Force Base on Tuesday morning.

As the small white charter plane carrying the flag-draped casket pulled up to the American Flag along the airstrip at the active duty Air Force base, the Massachusetts State Troopers, a Westminster Police Officer, honor guards from the United States Army and Air Force as well as the base's security personnel and commander stood at attention.

They surrounded the Jones family and a few close friends of the First Lieutenant as the body was removed from the plane.

Jones was killed on May 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Jones was first brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where an officer who serves at Fort Riley, Kan. - the base from which Jones was deployed - met Jones.

The 23-year-old Westminster resident was part of the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

The military and police personnel participating in the ceremony held a salute from the moment the casket was visible in the plane until it was placed in the hearse. Others, including the plane's pilot, placed their right hand across their heart.

The casket surrounded by the Army guard paused in front the Jones family for a moment after being moved off the plane.

The Patriot Guard Riders - a nationwide group of motorcycle rides who stand to honor the military members - held flags through the ceremony and joined the procession on the 45-minute drive back to Westminster.

As the funeral procession departed the Air Force base, civilian and military personnel on the base lined the sidewalks to show their respect for a fallen solider.

The funeral procession received a police escort home along Route 2 from the Air Force base.

Nine members of the Patriot Guard Riders served as the pallbearers as the casket was moved into the funeral home.