| Force Recon Mission Complete |
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What can I possibly say to express my gratitude to all of the people that participated in this weekends Welcome Home. It is amazing to me that an organization that does not have a formal "organization" can come together and do what we did. Plus, all of the other organizations (of a similar nature) that came and contributed and assisted and where there. I'm afraid that if I try to list their names I'll forget a name and someone will be offended. And the same with the PGR. My name for everyone is simple - Patriot! I have a couple of updates for those of you that didn't experience the run all the way (Camp Talega to Alameda). Total bikes that participated - best guess, 400 to 600. Bikes joined on the fly at at least 7 locations. Spots along the freeway where we had people along the side of the road, on overpasses, on the side of the freeway, etc - at least a dozen. Types of people holding signs etc - regular everyday patriots plus, Blue Star and Gold Star parents, police, CHP (who also gave us a pass when we were a little over the speed limit - not to mention the unscheduled & unrequested escort to catch up), fire department personnel and MORE. Cages involved in the convoy - a total of at least a dozen overall. For those of you that missed coming over the Grapevine - temp 34 degrees, rain, WIND WIND WIND. Amount of "non members" passing and giving thumbs up to the Marines - HUGE. Amount of thumbs up received by the Riders from the people we passed - HUGE. In addition, truckers on their CB's were raving about the convoy and blasting horns, spreading the word. Amount of negative reactions - zip, zero, nodda!! News coverage - 6 newspapers, 4 TV stations. Amount of family, friends and Marines telling US thanks - HUGE. And finally, the biggest heart felt thanks of all - mine. Thank you all for making this a fantastic Welcome Home. Don't ever forget. See photos and video clips here! Doug/SgtMaj Doug Lyvere SgtMaj, Marine ret PGR Regional Ride Captain www.patriotguard.org www.eaglesup.us Road Guard, Ride For The Wall www.rftw.org |