The Peoples Journal

Posts Tagged ‘HOTH’

It may seem like such a simple thing to you and me to see 6 bikes with 7 riders sitting out side the gate of Camp Shelby, but for the 412^th Engineering Battalion out of Vicksburg, MS that just left headed to Afghanistan, it was a big deal. For reasons of Operational Security, there is no big fan fair when these men and women leave the Country headed out on a deployment. There is no family there to hug them, tell them they love them, wave goodbye and express their hope that they ALL return home, safe and sound at the end of their deployment, that is what the Patriot Guard Riders’ “Help on the Homefront” mission is all about.

“Help on the Homefront” or HOTH, is a relatively new mission that the Patriot Guard Riders have adopted and the national guidelines are still being defined. But for us here in the state of Mississippi, we know what we want our mission to encompass, help for the soldiers and their families at home, provide send off and welcome home escorts, and show our continuing love and respect for our Veterans.

As with any other Patriot Guard Riders mission in the state of Mississippi, when there is something to be done, an email goes out state wide to all members and is posted on the national and state web sites. But some times these notices can be very short notice, or plans can change, as with the 412^th Engineering Battalion.

The notice of this send off mission came a few days before they were to deploy. An email was sent out to all Mississippi State PGR members, and being the Assistant Mississippi State HOTH Coordinator, I made my plans to attend. Two days before the mission, I received a call from Kim, Mississippi State HOTH Coordinator, telling me that she was sending out another email, the date and times for the send off had been moved up due to a breach of Operational Security. In the email Kim also informed us that there were several PGR members from the states of Arkansas and Georgia among the men and women deploying. So not only are these brave men and women willing to serve our Country in the military, but they also show that the “job” does not end when they come home. They stand beside the rest of us, to honor and respect their brothers and sisters in arms.

Several times a year the Mississippi PGR will get together for a flag singing event. With every Unit that deploys from Mississippi we send with them a Patriot Guard Riders flag signed by the members. The hope is that when they look at this flag while deployed, they will know that there are people back home that love, honor and respect them even though we may not know them personally.

After the presentation of the flag, we escorted the 412^th Engineering Battalion from Camp Shelby to Gulfport. When we arrived at the airport, we all parked on the side, honked our horns, revved our engines and waved as they passed through the gate. One though was on all our minds as the red tail lights disappeared from site in the dark, “I hope that when we escort them home when they return, that we escort ALL of them.”

Besides the send off and welcome home missions for those deploying, the “Help on the Homefont” mission also continues to show our love and respect for our Veterans. Among the many things we do for our Veterans is visit the VA homes across the state. We have 4 of these homes in the state of Mississippi. Every year, around Christmas, we go and visit the residents of each of these. We always like to bring them a little gift to show our continuing love and respect and that they are not forgotten. This year was  no different.

Each member of the PGR provides their own gas to, from and during any event. The flags presented to deploying units, plaques given to the families of the Fallen and anything else we do are totally supported through donations from the members and the American public. This year we had a “Halloween for Hero’s Ride” to raise money to buy fleece blankets & Christmas cards for every Veteran in the four MS VA homes to be given during our Christmas visits.

One of my duties as Assistant Mississippi State HOTH Coordinator is to help set up these visits. As I called the homes and talked to the Event Coordinators each of their voices brightened when I told them who I was with and that we wish to visit again this year. They went on and on about how much the residents loved our visits, talking with us and seeing our bikes. For me, hearing the excitement in their voices made my eyes fill with tears. To many times we, as a society, forget our elderly. Soon, many of these Veterans will be gone. Gone will be their wisdom that comes with age, and gone will be the stories they tell from a time when the whole World was at war.

If anyone would like to help our effort, donations can be made to your local HOTH program through the national PGR web site or they can be mailed to:

Patriot Guard Riders of MS

State HOTH Coordinator

Kim Brown

56 Bill Knight Rd.

Lumberton, MS 39455