Pig'n-Chik Kerry's Korner

Sherwood 'patriot' goes to Beebe

By Greg Rayburn
Editor

A Sherwood man, who recently attended the funeral of a fallen American soldier, says it took a tremendous amount of will power to stay calm during the antics of a Kansas preacher present who is famous nationally for protesting at the funerals of dead American soldiers.

Kerry Gore is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders whose mission is to “protest” the protesting of a Kansas preacher who has made it a habit in recent times to set up protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers.

“It was hard not to do something,” Gore said.

Gore attended the funeral of the late Bobby West of Beebe, who died in Iraq on May 30.

Patriot Guard Riders were requested to attend the funeral by West’s family because it became known that Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas planned on setting up a protest.

“This was our first funeral we attended in Arkansas, so we didn’t know what to expect,” Gore said.

Gore said he decided to join the Patriot Guard Riders because its mission was to support the families of fallen American war dead in contrast to what he sees as the outlandish behavior of Phelps’ protests.

Gore said he thought very little of Phelps and his small group of followers before he saw their protests firsthand.

Now he thinks even less of him.

“When you watch him, you can tell he’s just out there,” Gore said.

Patriot Guard Riders is one of the country’s fastest growing groups, started about one year ago, he said. “When I joined, there were 16,000 members and now it is up to about 34,000.”

Patriot Guard Riders was created over the public outrage over Phelps’ protests at funerals, said Gore.

The group also was instrumental in Arkansas adopting a new law which allows a 30-minute window where families can have some distance and time to honor their fallen loved ones, Gore said.

Gore said he was shocked and angered by some of Phelps’ actions.

He said Phelps had an American flag tied to his leg where he would step on and spit upon as he was speaking terrible comments about the war dead.

“All I kept thinking is that it’s because of war veterans, who died on the battlefield, that this guy has the right to do what he is doing,” Gore said.

At one point, one of the people supporting West and his family broke ranks and started racing toward Phelps and his small band of followers in what would appear as his getting ready for a fight.

“The police stopped him but he ended arrested,” Gore said. “I think the biggest reason he (Phelps) was doing all that he was doing was just to get more publicity.”

Gore said he believes Phelps would have been hurt if it weren’t for the police presence at the funeral.

“You had some really tough bikers there that were really getting angry,” Gore said.

Gore said one sight which disturbed him was seeing Phelps bringing little children to his protests.

“I just couldn’t imagine what he is teaching those little kids,” Gore said.

During Phelps’ antics, supporters of West’s family got so disgusted that they turned their backs in a unified demonstration to express shame.

“We were lined up between him and the family so the family could not see what he was doing, but we could and we just found it so disgusting,” Gore said.

Gore said he felt very rewarded by spending an afternoon attending the funeral.

“When you get 50 people you don’t even know come up to you and thank you for being there, it is a very special feeling,” Gore said.

Gore said he and other members of Patriot Guard Riders plan to attend other funerals of war veterans when they are called upon to do so by affected families.

“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have the freedom that I have as an American,” Gore said.

Patriot Guard outnumbers protestors at soldier's funeral

BY JOHN N. FELSHER
STAFF WRITER

BEEBE--A regiment of veterans from previous wars answered the call one more time Wednesday, but this time they clutched handlebars to honor a fallen soldier instead of rifles.
Soon after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Army Spc. Bobby West, 23, enlisted in the Arkansas National Guard. On May 30, he paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country. An improvised explosive device, military jargon for a homemade bomb, exploded as West and others patrolled the volatile streets of Iraq. West's friends and family gathered in the First Baptist Church of Beebe Wednesday to pay their last respects to a fallen hero.

However, not everyone chose to honor this fallen soldier. A group from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., promised to protest West's funeral, as they do other military funerals all over the country. They gleefully claim that God killed West and other soldiers because America tolerates homosexuals. Claiming to speak for God, this group believes that God hates America and plans to destroy it because American soldiers fight to support evil.

In response to these and similar protestors, a collection of mostly veterans who like to ride motorcycles, formed the Patriot Guard Riders in August 2005. A diverse collection of motorcycle enthusiasts from clubs all across the country, the group quickly swelled its ranks to more than 35,000 and continues to grow each day.

"We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America's freedom and security," said Pete Waddell, the Arkansas state ride captain for the cycle group. "We don't care what people ride or what their political views are. It's not a requirement to be a veteran to join the Patriot Guard Riders. The only prerequisite is that members respect those who serve in the armed forces, the fallen heroes and their families."

Many Patriot Guard Riders served in Vietnam, Waddell said. Many received poor treatment during their time in uniform or upon their return to the United States. Therefore, many vowed to never allow anyone else in uniform to suffer the indignities that they endured for years.

When members of the Arkansas Patriot Guard Riders heard that the Westboro Baptist Church group planned to stage a protest during West's funeral, they contacted the soldier's family. Then, they mobilized the cavalry and mounted their steel steeds. After bowing their heads in prayer, the thunderous column of more than 250 leather-clad riders from several states, most carrying American flags and sporting various patches, pins and medals, headed to Beebe to show their respect for a fallen hero.

Riding bikes of every size, color and description, the Patriot Guard Riders formed a wall of steel, leather and red, white and blue cloth between the church where the family and friends of the slain specialist gathered and the protestors. Tears streamed from the eyes of some hardened combat veterans with faces as leathery as their clothes. With their tattooed bodies, they created a human shield so that the grieving family of Specialist West did not see the two adults and four children waving signs of protest across the highway.

"I assured Specialist West's mother that we were not there to confront the protestors," Waddell said. "We were there to pay our respects and honor a fallen hero. We shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors and we accomplish this through strictly legal and non-violent means."

Outnumbered by media and police officers from several departments, the six protestors along one side of U.S. 64 waved signs and yelled their slogans to anyone who might listen. Some wrapped in upside down American flags, they occasionally swapped out their placards. Some signs proclaimed; "God Hates Your Tears," "God Hates America," "America Is Doomed" and "God is Your Enemy." One teen protester waved a sign that read, "Thank God for IEDs," a reference to the type of terror bomb that killed Specialist West.

On the other side of the highway, the silent warriors of the Patriot Guard Riders lined up in formation reminiscent of ancient battles, but said nothing. Holding their ground in the blazing heat of an Arkansas June afternoon, they quietly displayed their properly carried American flags. Many turned their backs on the protestors because they could not bear to look at them, they said.

As the protestors sang a corrupted version of the U.S. Marine Corps Hymn, changing the lyrics to praise bombs that kill American soldiers, the battle-hardened veterans in leather responded by singing "God Bless America," "Amazing Grace" and other songs. Occasionally, the bikers chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A," or waved to passing motorists who tooted their horns in support. However, they mostly remained silent, letting their stance speak for itself.

After a while, the six protestors packed their signs and left. A new Arkansas state law requires protestors to stop 30 minutes before until 30 minutes after a funeral. Protestors must also remain at least 150 feet away from a funeral, but the Patriot Guard Riders ensured that these protestors stayed several hundred yards away from the West family.

After the service ended in the First Baptist Church, the cyclists "mounted up" on their thundering wheeled steeds and escorted the funeral procession to the Westbrook Cemetery in Beebe. While Specialist West's family and friends prepared to bury their loved one, the Patriot Guard Riders again formed a human wall, periodically punctuated by American flags, between the gravesite and the highway. However, no protestors showed up at the cemetery.

For more information on the Patriot Guard Riders, call Waddell at (501) 681-7369. On line, see http://www.patriotguard.org.