Patriot Guard Rider Mission

We rose at 5 a.m. to get ready to ride to Novato, CA for a Patriot Guard Rider mission.

After a chilly ride into Lakeport we met Steve Biggs and rode over to Highway 101 via the Hopland Grade. Just a tad bit foggy - to the point that we stopped at the top and wiped the condensation off our windshields.

On arriving at the high school in Novato we joined around 20 other Patriot Guard Riders in a flag line leading to the memorial service for Cpl. Nicholas Paul Olson. Cpl. Olson lost his life while serving in Iraq.

I have been signed up as a member of PGR for a couple of years, but there has only been one other occasion that has been in our area. As it happens Cpl. Olson is the son of one of our friends here in Lake County.

The whole event took a couple of hours. One poignant moment came when a lady with a toddler came out of the memorial and as the toddler walked around the mother said, "Look at all the flags. Daddy would have liked the flags." The lady and toddler were the wife and daughter of Cpl. Olson.

Many people thanked the PGR members who made up the flag line. As far as I could tell, not one participant felt the need for a thank you, more like it was the least they could do for someone who had given their all for their country.