Riding to give respect
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders rode as part of the processional at First Lt. Ryan Jones' funeral on May 12 in Westminster.

If asked by the family, they stand guard outside the church and the cemetery - and anywhere else they are requested - as a way to show respect for the family of a fallen soldier.

They are members of the Patriot Guard Riders. The riders are a national organization of members that attend the funeral and other serivces of fallen soldiers to show their respect for the fallen heroes, their families, and their communities as well as to shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors with strictly legal and non-violent means.

"We're there to make sure that the solider gets the welcome home they deserved," said A.J. Rana, the county's ride captain.

Rana was one of the more than 75 riders at the recent funeral of 1st Lt. Ryan Jones in Westminster. Rana, a former Westminster resident, has participated in more than 100 services since he joined the organization.

"I have been to New York. I have been to Pennsylvania," he said. "I was down in the South Carolina area and attend a service down there when I was on vacation."

Rana lived in town for about 13 years, where he also worked as a developer and builder during the '80s and '90s. He now lives in Sterling.

"I am a Vietnam Era Veteran," he said. "I did not get a proper welcome home. It was about 25 to 30 years "We're there to make sure that solider gets

the welcome home

they deserved."

- A.J. RANA PATRIOT GUARD before I felt like I got that welcome home. And that is true for many Korean and Vietnam vets."

He said there are still servicemen listed as Missing In Action and Prisoner Of Wars from that era, who were never welcomed home.

Only those wishing to pay respect to Jones and his family attend the funeral Mass and the burial in Westminster but the Patriot Guard does hold as one of its' purposes to prevent protesters and other disturbances from bothering the family and other mourners.

"What we are trying to do is prevent anyone from trying to interrupt that service," Rana said.

The group does is through non-violent means by creating a line of flags between the protestors and the mourners. Rana has only been to one funeral where there were protestors.

The Guard members only go to a funeral if they are specifically invited by the family.

"It is so that those men and women know that their sacrifice won't be forgotten, nor will their families sacrifice be forgotten," he said.

The Patriot Guard has a state captain that works with area leaders to organize attendance at specific events. The guard works with the causality assistant officer assigned to a family by the military to organize with the family and the funeral parlors.

"Most families are know about the Patriot Guard," Rana said.

The organization started in November 2005 with 400 members in Kansas.

"It shows be patriotism is still alive and well and it just needs a method to be expressed," he said. "You don't have to be rider to join you just have to be a concerned patriot."

The guard adds cars to the processional for those who do not ride motorcycles. Four cars of members rode as part of Jones' processional.