In January I joined the American Legion Auxiliary. I did this so that I could become a Legion Rider. I am only eligible for the Auxiliary because my father served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. In my teens I actually planned to join the military ROTC program, but a sever stomach ulcer my senior year disqualified me from any further consideration of that plan -- nowadays, a stomach ulcer would not disqualify you from the military, but back then it did.
In an earlier post here I wrote about my Harley that I bought last summer as a gift to myself once my divorce was final. I'm a middle-aged single woman with a Harley, but I don't really have anybody to go riding with, and I'm not super keen to get out there and do a lot of riding on my own simply because I don't want to be alone if I had an accident or a complication with my bike or if the weather turned foul. I've long admired the Legion Riders here in my town, so I mentioned to my dad that I'd like to join them if it was possible through my connection with him. He told me that as his daughter I could join the Auxiliary, and then once I was a member of that I could also join the Legion Riders. He even took matters into his own hands and paid for my memberships as part of my Christmas present.
So, come January I attended my very first meeting. Since we were in the dead of a frigid winter with months of it ahead of us, clearly we didn't do any riding for a while. Then May came and the requests for riders to attend funerals and take part in the flag lines started pouring in -- the requests come all year actually, but they are more frequent when it's possible for the riders to actually ride their motorcycles to the funerals.
I was still stuck in school for most of May, so I wasn't free to help until last week when I finally went on my first ride as a Legion Rider to a funeral in a town 70 miles away. This was a momentous ride for me in two ways -- first, it was my very first experience with the Legion Riders, and second, it was my longest ride yet.
Fortunately, it was a gorgeous, sunny day. The few riders that set out from here with me stuck me right in the middle of the pack and took good care of me as we headed down the highway. We joined up in Norfolk with a large group of riders from there and surrounding towns, and then I really felt the exhilaration of riding in a long line of bikers that stretched out before me on the highway.
Once we got to the town and the church, we parked our bikes and we were each given a large flag on a long pole. We then stood with that flag in what is called a flag line that ran the length of the sidewalk in front of the church, and we held those flags proudly as the mourners entered the church for the funeral of the veteran.
While the funeral was in progress, we simply sat in the shade and talked quietly and drank some much needed water. It was gorgeously sunny, but it was also a warm one, and I still bear the sunburn to prove it (lesson learned: wear sunscreen on more than my face!). After the funeral, we made a different flag line for the people to pass through.
Then we rolled up the flags and put them in the flag truck which headed out to the cemetery ahead of us. We all got on our bikes and rode out to the burial grounds where we once again grabbed the flags and formed two sides of a square around the grave. The third side was comprised of the local Legion members who did the 21 gun salute and played "Taps" while the fourth side was made up of the mourners.
This particular funeral was quite unique in that the man's beloved horse bore his cremated remains to the graveside in a saddle bag, and then the urn was placed in a small hole in the ground by one of the veteran's family members. While we were at the cemetery, enough of a breeze blew through to really make the flags fly, and it was really moving to behold. I can only imagine that the deceased veteran would have been truly happy to see how everything played out on his behalf.
After we rolled up the flags again, we took off for home. We could have stayed and joined the luncheon at the church, but the few of us who had departed from here were tired and ready to return home. Maybe the next time I help out at a funeral that is closer to home I will stay to chat with the family. I do know that they were very appreciative of our presence, and I felt quite honored to take part in their send-off to a man they loved.
Being a Legion Rider means more than just serving at funerals, though, and I am still learning the ropes. There are a lot of activities planned for June including parades, poker runs, and even escorting the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica to a nearby town, so hopefully I will be able to do some of those activities and gain even more experience as a rider in a great organization.
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