Louisiana Patriot Guard Riders by Stacey “ Snoopy ” Conly
I remember when in 2005 the Westboro Baptist Church began picketing military funerals in Kansas and how incensed I became , along with the majority of the country . I especially remember my pride when bikers started stepping up and taking a stand to prevent WBC from being able to disturb these funerals . Bikers did this to give honor to the men and women who left their families and friends behind and to many who lost their lives fighting for our country , for us . Due to some physical issues I was unable to join in physically until a couple of years ago . I am so honored to be able to be a part of this group who pay tribute to our heroes !
In Kansas , the American Legion Riders Chapter 136 decided in August of 2005 to take a stand and in their August meeting discussed it and formed 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 family ’ s 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 .” ( https :// www .
4 patriotguard . org / content . php ? 162-PGR-History ) I emailed back and forth with Louisiana ’ s State Captain , Kenny Case and had the pleasure of meeting him at January ’ s State A . B . A . T . E . Meeting in Alexandria . The following information comes from him .
Honor Missions are what we call the military funerals we attend . Louisiana PGR averages approximately 200 Honor Missions a year , approximately 50 HOTH , which stands for Help On The Homefront . HOTH includes deployment ceremonies , welcome home events , care package drives for vets in nursing homes , SnowBall Express ( serving the children of our fallen heroes ), and Wreaths Across America ceremonies .
Patriot Guard Riders was founded in November 2005 and celebrated our 10th anniversary November 2015
In August 2015 , I had the honor of being a part of , as Kenny Case calls it , “ a one of a kind Honor Mission .” For the first time in Louisiana and possibly in the history of PGR , we were a part of a 2 part Honor Mission for Sgt . Canvas , a Retired USMC Military Working Dog . Sgt Canvas was retired and sent to live her remaining years in Minden with her retired handler , Marine Lance Corporal Russ Moseley . Sgt Canvas had been injured at the same time as Lance Corporal Moseley , but it wasn ’ t known for a couple of more years . The hard decision had to be made to put her down