It is not very often that we hear that so many different people come together for something but when it comes to the people protecting our country the science is much different.
Patriot Guard Riders PGR for short is an organization that attendants funerals for members of the military, firefighters, and police officers. Their job also includes protecting those events from protesters or harassment.
But that’s not all they do.
The Patriot Guard Riders pay their respect by attending funerals for underprivileged and homeless veterans returning from overseas.
We don’t care what you ride or if you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a hawk or a dove … It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your income is; you don’t even have to ride.” They wrote on their website.
They have a very welcoming organization and anyone can join them even if someone is, not a veteran or motorcyclist. The only requirement to join them is to have “deep respect for those who serve our country.”
PGR was born because of the extremely disrespectful protests breaking out at the funerals. It was created to protect the mourning families of veterans from Westboro Baptist Church.
PGR learned about Staff Sgt. Jonathan Turner.
A 41-year-old veteran’s family lived in Georgia and was unable to attend his funeral in California.
Hence the PGR stepped up to be unsure that Jonathan’s remains would make their way back to his family in a respectful manner.
They gathered in huge numbers to pay respect to Turner.
Jeff Goodiel of the Georgia Patriot Guard Riders told a news channel – “The California Patriot Guard Riders contacted all of the state captains from California to Georiga and explained the situation, that it wasn’t proper to ship this war hero home via FedEx. Within days, a convoy was assembled with each state’s Patriot Guard Riders driving Turner’s cremated remains across their state and then passing those remains off to the next group of riders.”
The longest trip in PGR history
More than a hundred volunteers gathered for more than 2000 miles in the transportation.
Turner’s mother Annie Glanton “It’s heartwarming, to see all these people here, I know that he was loved by a lot of people.”
