Several people have asked how the
Patriot Guard Riders got started.
Here’s what we’ve been able
to piece together. If anyone can give
us more details, it would be greatly
appreciated.
It all started back in early August
of 2005 with the American Legion
Riders chapter 136 from Kansas. They
were appalled to hear that a fallen
hero’s memory was being
tarnished by misguided religious
zealots who were protesting at
funerals. They decided to do
something about it. At the ALR 136
August meeting, Director:
Chuck " Pappy "
Barshney appointed members, Terry
“Darkhorse” Houck, Cregg
“Bronco 6” Hansen, Steve
“McDaddy” McDonald, and
Bill ”Wild Bill” Logan to
form a committee to strategize and
form a battle plan to combat Fred
Phelps and the Westboro Baptist
Church.
When they heard that the WBC was
going to protest at the Funeral of
Sgt. John Doles in Chelsea, Oklahoma,
they established a Mission Statement,
which included getting the families
permission and contacting Law
Enforcement and other Motorcycle
Groups in Oklahoma. They agreed that
their ultimate goal was to get
veterans and motorcycle organizations
involved in every state so that each
state could handle the situation
internally and not rely on other
states to do the job. They were
very successful in mustering riders
to honor Sgt. Doles and limiting the
intrusion by the WBC.
After the Chelsea
Mission the Kansas American
Legion Riders wanted all
Motorcycle Groups/ Organizations to
be recognized. On the 18th of October
2005 the Patriot Guard name was
established and was announced on
the 27th of October 2005 to the 100 +
motorcyclists present at the
Tonganoxie Mission to Honor Spc Lucas
Frantz.
Following the missions in South
Haven, KS and a later ride in Edmond,
OK, Jeff “Twister” Brown,
from Broken Arrow, OK, decided to do
more than just ride. He saw a need to
get a strong nation-wide
communications and recruiting program
in place. He contacted the original
AL riders in Kansas and told them of
his plans. They openly shared their
experiences, suggestions, and
encouragement. Within a matter of
days, Brown had formed the Patriot
Guard Riders and began a nation-wide
campaign to garner support.
Similarly, after a mission ride in
Greeley, CO, Hugh Knaus and Jason
“Waldo” Wallin answered the
call of the newly formed Patriot
Guard Riders, becoming the national
webmaster and communications
director, respectively. Within
a matter of days, a mission statement
was refined and a website was built,
rebuilt, and launched. A call
immediately went out to individual
riders and groups across the nation
to join and ride with the PGR. State
Captains were recruited to work more
closely with the members in their
area.
The growth has been phenomenal.
Within a week their membership
included many riders from
associations like the VFW, American
Legion, Rolling Thunder, ABATE,
Combat Vets Motorcycle Association,
Intruder Alert, Leathernecks
Motorcycle Club, and almost five
hundred individual riders. To the
credit of Hugh and “Waldo”,
the PGR website had received almost
566,000 hits in the first two weeks!
Patriots from all over America and
several foreign countries responded.
Emails were pouring in from people
wanting to support and join the newly
formed PGR.
So, that’s a pretty concise
picture of where we came from and
where we are today. A great deal of
credit goes to that small group of
Kansas American Legion Riders, but
none of this could have ever been
accomplished without the patriot
member who takes time out of their
life to honor a fallen soldier and
their family.
