Robert Augustine Seidel III

West Point, 2004

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Patriot Guard Riders on January 27, 2007:

1st Lt Robert A Seidel III MISSION REPORT 01 Jun 2006 1:17PM WOW ... Yep! That about sums it up, MY VIEW FOLLOWS... My Wife and I rolled into town about 07:45 in 'Herman' and cruised to St. Joe's property on my own recon. Rumbling through the parking lots we were impressed by their size and wondered if these really would fill later in the day. Turning into the lot below the Basilica we spotted a long Tan Bluebird Bus with a few military personnel standing around, when a young Spec4 heard and spotted us he called over his shoulder and started to run towards us. "Hey, are you PGR" he called as the rest of his friends made there way towards us. "Well I'm one of them", I replied. They were part of the Army's Honors detail assigned to the Lt Seidel ceremonies and seems as though this soldiers' father notified him that they might have some problems with 'demonstraters', also "the PGR is supposed to be there, they'll keep it straight". Soldiers thanking me and I haven't done anything yet... I park and set up by the Main entrance and greet the 1st bike to arrive, Charlie from the Eastern Shore of MD on a nice Yellow Heritage... As more bikes and members roll in I touched base with LEO informing him PGR is on site. He answers with "Welcome to MD, I'll be there in 10 minutes." We met and reviewed his plan, tweaked it a little for us and it worked great. Here I want to compliment the Sheriffs office of Frederick County and Cpl. Mike Grunnell (LEO). He and they were exceptional. He went as far as to assign a Deputy directly to me, in the beginning of the mission, so if we needed anything I'd ask the Deputy he would radio their HQ or the Corporal and I had an answer. Inter-organizational cooperation like that is rare. Thanks Again. A mission Breifing was called at approx. 09:50 and by that time I had lost count around 180 bikes and 8 cages or so. Members were still rolling in so I figure we had approx 220 bikes with over 250 souls on board. I explained the overall plan and asked the RCs Kip & Keith with SCs Bob & Don to set your formations... RC Rich 'BuffDaddy' Linden had the 1st assignment of the day... He formed a Riding escort to the Funeral Procession from the Funeral Home to the Basilica, to avoid possible traffic problems they Rallied at the FH directly. As we waited for the Procession to arrive I watched the newbies glancing around trying to do it right, us older hands trying to stay comfortable, Color guard from the Vol. Fire companies in their wool uniforms and Fire Chief Wayne, walking the line and squaring away the troops. Close to a 1/4 mile of driveway and lined both sides with PGR, we waited quietly with respect. We could hear sirens getting nearer as the precession came into view, I turned and asked the 4 Deputies standing behind me to please join our formation, the ranking Officer said, "We'd be honored sir", and fell in across the the road, effectively sealing any sightline... The column arrives and turns in past the Two Fire Department Aerial Trucks with a Very Large American Flag Suspended between their out stretched sections. We all braced and stood a little taller, seeing the family and watching their eyes and expressions made my Memorial Day right there, 'BigHowie' said it right, what better way indeed... We held our salute and then our formation welcoming all family members and friends till the ceremonies started and a little more... Then had the formation fallout and take a break under the trees. The FH Owner came out with his Mgr. and informed us to plan for a 2 hour ceremony, that was OK with us we needed the break... The Volunteer Ambulance Corp. when informed that we needed drinking water (that Deputy again?) arrived with individual bottles of water iced down in large 50 gallon containers. Thanks Guys you were a life saver... Then they kept an Ambulance close by with the A/C running, just in case. Inside Info: Through LEO, I knew two (2) groups were coming to demonstrate... The city contacted every property owner and asked for permission to use their property for demonstrators. They all refused. (Nice) This put the only property available was across from the Fire School at FEMA, at the end of our parked bikes... With our bikes in place and LEO's cruiser plus our formation the only opening was the road itself, I had a 6 person PGR squad ready when Leo said we couldn't block the road, true, - but they could-... We were back-up if the 4 Deputys' were called away. When alerted to the Ceremonies end we fell in and set Two formations, The Upper which was close set, offered a rolling salute, then hold until cleared then break, move and reform at the cemetery in preparation of the Family... The Lower would Gauntlet the driveway, offer a rolling salute at the casket passing, Then Cascade and fall into an escort line directly aside and slighly behind the Immediate Family to the Cemetery... The Procession exited the Basilica through the Portico Doors and moved into the Lane, The sight of the American Flags in line and lit with bright sunlight was inspiring... The Flag Draped Casket on a curtained covered cart guided by The Army Honor Guard... Almost magical, No sound, you could hear some clothing rustling, some soft crying or sobs, but no traffic, no birds, no air moving, almost as though the earth was holding its breath... We turned onto Seton Ave. people were standing in front of their homes, some saluting some crying... The Fire dept. moved and repositioned their trucks to the entrance of the cemetery and upon entering we were greeted by another PGR Flag formation... We fell in among them. We came to attention and offered the Final Salute to the sounds of Rifle Fire and Bugle, Then stood quietly... The FD caught my eye and motioned me to his side, asked If I wanted to present a token and said I did... The Tent was crowded with mourners and Family shoulder to shoulder, I went down on one knee in front of the Seidel's and said, "We of the Patriot Guard offer you our Deepest and Most Profound Condolences, We also offer you our Thanks for inviting us into your ceremony... We know how hard it is to focus in this time of turmoil, You Have Done Well, Please accept this token, Saying -Mission Accomplished-". I then removed one Dogtag from my vest and gave it to then. I asked if they would take the salute from our formation and they eagerly accepted, I escorted them to our formation and Called attention, alerting "The Parents of an American Hero", Present Arms and then Called it down... I thanked them again and dimissed the formation... Many, Many people shake my hand and offer thanks, I say thanks back to you, this has never been or will ever be a 1 man show... Yeah I'm big, old and easy to find, Great Target and I love doing it, it's easy for me... but without the help of SC's - Don, Bob, Harry and RC's-Kip, Rich, Keith, and I think John & Paul I would have had to work much harder and not receive as good a result... To the Seidel family, Thank You again for allowing us to participate in honoring your son... To the Community, You GET IT, you have the capacity to Love and Care, your Sheriffs Dept., Voluteer Fire, Ambulance Corps all show it, Well Done... To The PGR, You have made this the most Memorable, You are Great People... To Bobby, Tell Sister Seton she has a great place, I missed those two empty water bottles and I'm sorry, if she finds a U.S.Army Flag it's mine and Should you look down and see me and 'Herman' warping around the roads down here jump on, there's always room for another Ranger... Oh Yeah, that parking lot, It was full and overflowed to the street, close to 4 acres... FYI May God Bless... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED MISSION COMPLETED

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