[keithlongacre]

With 2 missions at the same time today, I am really pleased at the great turn out in Bastrop for this Marine. We had 24 total including 8 rider friends of Abdu. New to PGR, transplants from Oregon, Chris & Tabatha joined us from Buda. Double duty RC Terry brought the flags he had from Thurs. mission. Judging from the many many comments, U once again showed how really important it is for all of us to show up at these mission to show respect to the fallen & their families & friends.
Thanks to each of U for all U do to get here & stand the flag line. It means so very very much.

[keithlongacre]

19 patriots stood the flag line including Gold Star Mother, Maria Gonzales, who drove up from Katy, Tx. Turns out, her son & Neil were best friends. In addition to holding the Gold Star Flag, she also provided all of us with cold drinks.
Chris, another close friend of Neil's, offered some very emotional appreciation words to all of us for being there for all of them & standing in honor of Neil. He & Maria walked the entire line thanking each one of us with hand shakes, hugs & tears. Also stopping to thank us was Neil's fiancee' Andrea (Andy). She too spoke of how special it was to her that we were there.
Family & friends numbered in the hundreds, some coming from out of state.
It goes w/o saying, U guys are simply the best for the honor U show the families & friends of our Military heroes. Thank u all so very much.

[keithlongacre]

Dodging rain to get there, 8 members & new member Paul, stood a flag line to honor Mr. William's long service. Thanks to Don F for the flags & to RC trainee Jimmy C for the briefing.
Please keep Don in your prayers as his biopsy came back as positive for throat cancer.

[keithlongacre]

As many of know, Austin PGR has a Ride Captain in training. Jimmy C. has been tagging along w the RC so as to learn 1st hand the ins & outs of the position. Such was the case at Thurs mission. He walked w me as I made my way into the church & talked to the FD & did the various other things that we do. During the briefing, I gave him the mission briefing I had prepared from the email notification & obit along w the standard briefing cards that Terry made for us. During the procession, I placed him directly behind me. With cont. practice & guidance he is going to develop into a fine RC.
Thank U Jimmy for accepting the RC in training position. I look forward to working w U again.

[keithlongacre]

Today was tough for many reasons but the riders & Don hung in there & showed the family & friends that America cares deeply for our men & women in uniform. Many have asked over the years, why we do this. The answer is simple. Because of what it means to the family & service members that we honor & respect. Thank you to all those that serve in harms way & may God grant you comfort & peace in your loss.

The procession was hot BUT not as hot as what our military has to endure in the middle east. Upon arrival at CTVC, the cemetery was packed with vehicles including a bus. It was a big turn out. After the ceremony, many stopped & thanked us for what we do & what it means to them. So, thank U PGR. U are super.

[keithlongacre]

What an amazing group of patriots we have in the Austin PGR. Do to unforeseen & very last minute issues, I did not make it to the mission. But true to our "Semper Gumby" patch (Always Flexible), 2 of our riders, Warren & Charles, stepped up, took charge & carried out the mission w/o a hitch. All bikes were at the front of the procession as usual & formed a flag line upon arrival at the cemetery. A 12 yr old played taps on a real bugle & was fantastic. Warren retrieved the flag from the casket & after the customary rendering of the hand salutes, Charles presented it to the family.
The Masons also preformed their customary ceremony because Woody was a Mason.
There were 7 riders, 2 guests & Don with the flag truck.
OUTSTANDING guys! PS Nicki was there on her own ride. Yahoooooooo Good to have U back & riding again.

[keithlongacre]

I wanted to take time this weekend to send a thank you to. You and your guard members for helping salute my farther Charles Covill back on March 7th. Of this year
Please extend mtly thanks to all who participated. We received many compliments on your group that day. Here are some pictures that were taken that day..

Thanks again,
Diann Covill Hill

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Note® Edge, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

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[keithlongacre]

“I wanted to take time this weekend to send a thank you to. You and your guard members for helping salute my farther Charles Covill back on March 7th. Of this year

Please extend my thanks to all who participated. We received many compliments on your group that day. Here are some pictures that were taken that day.”

Thanks again,
Diann Covill Hill

[keithlongacre]

All, Today we got good news from Nicki’s Orthopedic Surgeon. No surgery required, at least for the near term. Follow-up next week. R rash is healing well. Knees still swollen a little but healing. Not much worse than before the crash as she was having treatments trying to avoid replacement. Ankle is the big problem. Very sore. Dr. said she could put weight on it to the extent she could stand the pain without worrying about damaging it further. Her spirits are up considerably today. Mine too!!! Thanks again for being there for us. If anyone is cruising Spicewood, feel free to stop in, she would love to see you.
Marebear, could you please pass this along to Hank and Sam, I don’t have their emails.

Soup & Nicki 317 Kendall DR. Ph: 512-925-2104

[keithlongacre]

“This message goes to all my bothers and sisters of the Austin Patriot Guard Riders. Hi, this is Nicki Campbell, the rider who went down on our Thursday mission for Mr. Thompson. I sincerely apologize to the Thompson family for our riders not making it to complete our mission at the cemetery because of my accident.

First, let me convey what an honor it is to ride with Austin PGR. I have felt your prayers for my recovery and appreciate all the offered assistance to both my husband, Soup, and I. You all showed up at the hospital, helped with the police report, assisted with getting my bike towed, and showed support that is unparalleled.

I especially would like to thank Charles, who stayed with us at the hospital until after 8PM so that he could make sure Soup made it home safely. Both Charles and Keith have kept communication about my progress going, so that I did not have to. Hank and Sam stayed at the scene and coordinated with the tow service and brought stuff off the bike that could have been easily pilfered and even offered to haul my bike back to Spicewood. Then they both showed up at the hospital. Warren led Soup to the hospital using his GPS and visited me for awhile. This is the guy with the beautiful new trike that I hit!!!! Marebear, the Deputy State Captain, Centex region also came to the hospital with offers of support above and beyond. I am sure there others who helped that I am not aware of. Thank you to all.

Please know that Soup and I feel blessed to be a part of such a great group of people. We hope to complete many more missions with you and look forward to doing our part in Austin PGR.

Nicki Campbell"

[keithlongacre]

Update on Nicki. I have heard from Charles, Soup & Nicki her self.

She does have some soreness in her shoulder and they put stitches in her right arm at her elbow as well as her left elbow and they have put her in a walking cast on her right leg and gave her crutches. They can't find any signs of a concussion and she's in good spirits.

Charles stayed with Soup & Nicki all day long and refused to leave till soup did, so he could make sure he got home ok. Then Charles rode w Soup back to his house & got home himself around 12:30 AM. Nickie didn't get home till around 1am. Soup emailed me expressing how impressed with and thankful for the tremendous support from their new PGR friends.

Soup took Nicki to Orthopedic surgeon for eval. on her ankle & shoulder the nx day. As long as she don’t get any infections he thinks she will be good as new in a month or so. They are waiting for ct scan results on her foot/ankle, hoping no surgery will be required. Will find out by end of next week. Quote from Soup "I know we been get’n prayers from our fellow PGR buds and I can say with a fair amount of optimism that they have been answered. Thanks to all. Soup"

Charles, Thank U so much for everything you have done in this event. I, the Austin PGR members & for sure the Campbell's really really appreciate it.

HANG IN THERE GIRL, WE LOVE YOU

[keithlongacre]

We had 11 bikes & 2 cages at the FH, w 12 patriots standing a flag line for this Marine/retired APD officer. When service started, the flag line retreated to Don's flag truck & we stood down for the 2 hour wait for departure to CTSVC. The family & FD wanted us up front of the Coach w 2 flag bikes in front of the family car just behind the Coach as we usually are. This is our normal position anyway as it not only allows the family to see the flags flying but is also the safest place for us to be. Just before KSU ( kick stands up), I was ordered to have all the riders fall in at the back of the procession. I informed the FD & she told the disappointed family. So like a patch on our vest states, Semper Gumby (always flexible), we fell in at the rear as ordered. I advised all riders they could stand down if they chose to as this is a very unsafe position for us. None did. There were 26 motor officers, 3 FH cars, 10 vehicles, 11 PGR & 2 APD cages in the procession.

Unfortunately, our fears were realized & PGR rider Nicki Campbell went down during one of the many accordion actions of the procession. Nicki was transported to the Killeen Clear Creek hospital. Husband Robert (Soup) & Warren Longacre (Froggy) went to be with her while Charles, Hank & Stan stayed behind w her bike to wait for a wrecker. They than came to the hospital. Marebear, Centex Deputy State Captain, also came by. What a super bunch of members we have.

As an invited patriotic honoring unit, the Austin PGR sincerely apologizes for not being able to show the honor & respect to Joel & his family that he & they deserve. Know that our prayers & thoughts are with you all.

Updates on Nickie's condition will be posted here when I know more. Thank all of U for the true patriots U are.

[keithlongacre]

10 patriots were at the briefing today to show their respect for Mr. Growden & his family. Mr. Growden's son came out & chatted with all of us. He expressed how much the whole family appreciated our being there. After the service started, we relocated the flag line to grave side. As the procession neared, we formed a 2nd flag line behind the Navy & American flags posted at the casket.
A very touching moment came when Mr. Growden's son came through the flag line & saluted each of us.
Thanks again to loyal & faithful Flag Wrangler Don
PS Looks like Frogy (AKA Warren) has new flag mounts & flags on his trik. Looken goooood.

[keithlongacre]

Here is His Obituary. Roger Growden, age 74, of Austin, passed away on April 14, 2017. He was born on August 3, 1942 in Centreville, Pennsylvania to Francis Z. and Vera (Boor) Growden. He graduated in 1960 from Bedford High School in Bedford, Pennsylvania.

Roger was retired from Austin Energy and the City of Austin Electric and Air Conditioning Departments. He has been a member of Great Hills Baptist Church since 1969. He was also a member of the Austin Christian Bass Club and was the last active founding member of this club.

Roger served his country in the United States Navy. He chose to train in the Mobile Construction Battalion Division #4. He was stationed in Cuba during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and subsequent Kennedy Blockade.

Those left behind to cherish his memory are his wife of 55 years, Velma J. Growden; son, Marcus Growden and wife Terri; daughter, Ginger L. Growden; son, Derek Benjamin Growden; two grandchildren, Brian and Braedan Flowers; and his sister, Shirley Griffith of Bedford, Pennsylvania.

[keithlongacre]

At the conclusion of the earlier mission, most of us found a place to grab lunch & enjoy some fellowship, then proceeded on to the grave side service of Mr. Steyer. 11 members stood a flag line as the Coach , family & friends arrived. Air Force Honor Guard rendered military honors & were sharp as tacks as usual. Attendees were impressed & pleased that we were there "Standing For Those That Stood For Us" Thanks Mark for filling in as Flag Wrangler.

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