l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 7 l 8 l 9 l 10 l 11 l 12 l 13 l 14 l 15 l 16 l 17 l 18 l 19 l 20 l 21 l 22 l 23 l 24 l 25 l 26 l 27 l 28 l 29 l 30 l 31 l 32 l 33 l 34 l 35 l 36 l 37 l 38 l 39 l 40 l 41 l 42 l 43 l 44 l 45 l 46 l 47 l 48 l 49 l 50 l 51 l 52 l 53 l 54 l 55 l 56 l 57 l 58 l 59 l 60 l 61 l 62 l 63 l 64 l 65 l 66 l



page - 1 -

________________________

August 31, 2009


To my fellow Patriots,

I was informed that my nephew SFC William “Brian” Woods Jr. Company B, 2^nd Battalion, 20^th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Glen Arm, MD  was severely wounded in Ghanzi, Afghanistan 14 August, 2,009. My family was notified that Brian died 16 August 2009.

I notified the State Captains’ for North Carolina and Missouri that my nephew would be coming to their states and gave them the contact information for the CAO. As it turned out this was a very

“SHORT NOTICE “ mission for NC. They along with the Local, County and State Police did a great job in getting my nephew and family from the airport to the funeral home. The entire 1^st part of this mission went very well.  The visitation and services were those fitting a hero.

The NC PGR escorted my nephew to the airport at 0430 for his arrival in St. Louis, Missouri on 26 August 2009 where the MO. PGR would escort him and my family to Cedar Hill, Missouri.  There were some say 100 plus motorcycles in the Escort and thousands of people along the way to show Honor for a Hero and condolences to my family.

To my surprise when I arrived at the Visitation there standing in the flag line along with the Missouri PGR where members from the Kentucky and Ohio PGR that traveled in to Honor my nephew and to support my family as well.  During the Visitation my family would come up to me and say things like “I can not believe what you all do for our military” or “I am overwhelmed by the support shown”.

About 30 minutes prior the end of the visitation we entered the room and did the final salute to this fallen warrior and I was given the Honor of presenting the plaque to my nephew’s mother. I was not sure if I could do this one or not but I felt as if my nephew was standing there with me to help me through this part.

The day of the services we escorted Brian’s remains to the High School, there a ceremony fitting a Warrior took place, there were at least 150 PGR members standing a flag line, I tried my best to thank each and everyone of them for being there to Honor Brian and the support they have shown my family.

When it came time to escort Brian and my family to the interment site it was a site to behold. There were no less than and maybe more than 250 motorcycles, numerous PGR cages, American Flags and so much pride it was breath taking. Brian’s Mother and Sisters and Brother could not believe the show of support. We kind of laughed saying that Brian and his dad were looking down and saying “Now, That’s what I’m Talking About”.

There are so many people to thank it’s very hard to remember everyone but I do want to thank the police agencies, fire departments and EMS involved in making sure we arrived safely anytime Brian was moved.  To the North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio Patriot Guard Rides and the American Legion Riders, I salute you on a stellar job. We in the Patriot Guard have a closer knowledge of what the families of the fallen go through when they loose a loved one to war, however I now know first hand the total feeling and when I saw Robin and Jim White who lost their son “JP” in 2006 in Afghanistan for whom I had the Honor of Standing for where there in Missouri standing in the flag line for my lost loved one left me speechless.

Lastly, to the United States Special Forces thank you so much for being there to not only honor your fellow comrade but to support my family during this very tragic time. May God watch over each and every one of you. Thank you for your service to our Country and my freedom.


Bob Woods
Ohio State Captain
Patriot Guard Riders

________________________

top

[next]