From:
Jon Watt <----------@hotmail.com>
Date:
Fri, 1 Feb 2008 15:10:32
To:Dave
Burke <--------@cccomm.net>, Stormy <<--------@cox.net> Cc:Eghor <<--------@cox.net>
Subject:
RE: Westboro
Baptist Church Hates Reno??
This
soldier shakes his "ordained Southern Baptist minister's" head at the antics of this so-called church. Didn't I recently
read where this church and its head pastor were successfully sued in court to the tune of over a million dollars?
One
wishes we could carry God's sacred Word to those that follow this lunacy - so that they could truly read what is in scripture
- rather than some leader and his cronies being able to spew their lunancy while calling it the "gospel". One has to
wonder what they would do to the Lord if He was to walk in their midst with His message of love and forgiveness today.
Thank
you - good folks - for what you do for my fellow soldiers and for supporting our fallen comrade in arms.
Jon Watt
Staff Sergeant, US Army - currently deployed FOB Salerno, Afghanistan
-- and an ordained minister.
This is from the blog of Marianne Denton <mariannedenton@sbcglobal.net>, she has allowed me to share her
well written account of today’s Mission in Reno. Great photos available at this link:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31677695&blogID=351824204
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Not In My Town
As
the protesters ran to their car, they frantically called back to their "church" and declared, "The Reno mission is a complete
failure!" Only 15 minutes into their 45 minute protest, three members of the hate group, Westboro Baptist Church, gave
up their "mission" in the face of nearly 200 Patriot Guard members and citizens of northern Nevada.
If you're not familiar
with the Westboro Baptist Church, google them, and you'll learn everything you need to know. They pervert the Constitution
(many of the members are lawyers) and the pervert the Bible. They are not affiliated with any Baptist organization,
but are essentially a "church" consisting of only family members. The WBC has taken up protesting the funerals of service
personnel who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan with their hateful signs declaring, "Thank God of IEDs," "Semper Fi
Faggot," and others. Their justification is that "God" is punishing America by killing service men and women,
having devastating hurricanes ruin entire cities, and yes, even the events of September 11, for America's embrace of the homosexual
lifestyle. Believe or not, this is what they espouse, and it's disgusting.
So, I have dreamed and prayed for
the day when I could comfort the WBC, and would frequently check their website. Due to the unfortunate loss of a soldier
in Iraq, I saw that they were coming to Reno to protest his funeral. My sweet Eric said that he would not bail me out
of jail if I "confronted" them, and we agreed that we would follow the lead of the Patriot Guard, a motorcycle group, who
by invitation, protects and shields the family of the fallen soldier from the WBC group. Fortunately, I was able to
make contact with the local chapter of the Patriot Guard.
Eric joining the group.
So, this morning, we joined
the group. The intent was the surround the WBC and hide their signs with American flags. This picture does not
even capture half the group.
This is where you can see just barely a part of the WBC's sign. The Patriot Guard
use their American flags to obscure the signs.
After 15 minutes, and a lot of verbal harassment, the WBC left for their
car. The entire group, peacefully and non-violently, followed them to make sure they left. Thereafter, the Patriot
Guard lined both sides of the street, to the honking support of many cars. Yet, there was one car, a rental, that dared
to drive up and down a couple of times, giving us the finger...it was the WBC. Too cowardly to truly stand-up for their
sick beliefs, yet piggish enough to taunt the group as they zoomed past at 45 mph.
I am very proud of my family, Eric,
Alex, and our good friend, Adam, who stood up for what is right. I know that others wanted to join us, and were prevented
due to circumstances, but they were there with us in spirit.
Past veterans and a future one.
The Patriot Guard,
and us, too, stayed until the end of the service, creating a huge honor guard in front of the church. The strains of
the bagpipes signaled the conclusion of the service, and the grieving family came out to thank the Patriot Guards. Even
in their moment of grief, the family moved down the flag line, personally thanking each person and shaking their hand.
I
love the Constitution of the United States of America, and I will defend a person's right to take full advantage of all the
freedoms therein. And if the WBC want to protest in front of a federal building, or their own church, go right ahead.
But a family's private grief is not to be appropriated to further their sick agenda. I'm proud how we "ran them
out of town," and I hope that we never have another occasion to have to address them again.
We are so proud of the Patriot Guard Riders of Nevada! You folks did
an outstanding job today at Sgt. Sean Gaul's services. Much of this credit goes to our northern Nevada State Ride Captain,
Dave Burke.
Below is from the Reno newspaper today:
About 150 Patriot Guard members and supporters encircled eight protesters
at a Reno memorial service this morning for a soldier slain Jan. 5 in Iraq. The Westboro Baptist Church based in Topeka, Kan.,
announced it would protest the memorial service for Staff Sgt. Sean Gaul today in south Reno.
The group says its protests highlight that God is killing soldiers in
Iraq and Afghanistan to punish America for condoning homosexuality.
Walking along South Virginia Street just north of Bishop Manogue High
School, they held signs with words like “God hates fags” and “God loves IEDs.” IED is a common acronym
for improvised explosive devices used to hurt and kill military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Patriot Guard is a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who support fallen
soldiers. They showed up with American flags and formed a curtain around the protestors so the public found it difficult if
impossible to see them.
Danielle Fargo, who lives in Damonte Ranch, came with her children to
support the Patriot Guard.
“We came here to support our troops and to stand up against the
hate,” Fargo said.
One of her children held a sign that said, "God is love."
“We want to show people that god is love, not hate,” Fargo
said.
The demonstration and counter demonstration have not been violent and
are being monitored by the Reno Police Department and the Washoe County Sheriff¹s Office. So far they have only interacted
with the groups to keep them off South Virginia Street.
Gaul¹s memorial service is set for 11 a.m.
at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
Stormy
Nevada State Captain
The services for Sgt. David
Drakulich went well and the PGR was well represented with approximately 20 plus bikes, riders and passengers on the warmest
(40 degrees) Northern Nevada day in a few weeks. There was of course a full Color Honor Guard and Governor Jim Gibbons
attended as did a number of County and State Motor Patrolmen. The Drakulich family truly appreciated our presence and we were
thanked by many of the attendees.
I would personally like to thank everyone that attended the services and especially
those that also went to the airport to welcome home Stanley Roberts.
A Reno woman sent the following e-mail to
Dave Burke, our Northern Nevada Ride Captain after the services:
Just want to tell you
tonight, I had dinner next to two of the Soldiers that escorted this young man home to our Town. They were telling
me about the Patriot Guard Riders and how much they loved them..as it was you people that protected them..from the protesters
that want to get them in an altercation.
It amazes me that there are people who are so ignorant
and disrespectful..!
It was a very moving story they shared of their duties in this most pain filled job. I have
done grief and loss counseling since 1986 and told them it was the most loving thing they could do for a Mother who lost a
child to war..Knowing their child was NOT ALONE.
I pray that peace comes soon and our loved ones come home.
Thank
You for what you do..
Stay Brave Stay Strong
And don't let the Ignorant Filled with Cruelty Harm these families
OR THE SOLDERS THAT WATCH OVER THEM!
PEACE! Elaina Proffitt
Dave says, “This is what our missions mean to our soldiers. I don't need any more encouragement
than this.”
Exceptional efforts folks,
Dave Burke
Northern Nevada Ride Captain
Folks,
I’d just like to thank you all for
the great support we had today for the Sgt. Paredez mission. For you who couldn’t be there, there were protesters. Metro
ran them off pretty effectively and we didn’t need to perform that part of the mission. However we did give a motorcycle
escort between the funeral home and cemetery for the hearse. And we did get to do an honor guard flag line at the cemetery.
YOU WERE ALL MAGNIFICENT!!!
After it was all over we held a meeting at
the Post 8 where we discussed the current situation with the NV PG and PGR and got feedback from the membership as to how
we could improve our missions in the future. More on that later as things develop.
Right now, I just want to express to you
how very much I treasure you all and my association with such a great bunch of people. THANK YOU!!!
The following is a message from Stormy, the
Ride director for today’s mission.
Ed "Egorhh" Frank
State Director – South
Nevada Patriot Guard
Thanks to everyone who made this mission
a success. Without the help of Popeye, The Legion, Metro, and all the great Patriot Guards, we would not have been able to
honor our Nevada Hero. Everyone performed their duties in an exemplary and honorable manner.
Thank you all,
Stormy
Well the assholes form Westboro
showed up in Sin City. We really should have introduced them to our Mayor; I'm sure such a colorful man like Uncle
Oscar would have had a few comments for them. If there is anyone deserving to be put in stocks and flogged, these are
them. But thanks to the Patriot Guard and the LV Metro Police, the jackasses took off running once they saw us.
Truly a professional event if I've ever seen one. Much thanks to everyone who came.
Doc
(aka Vic Moss)
"Only
a biker understand why a dog sticks its head out the window of a moving car."
Egorhh, you missed
a great weekend.
I know I haven't been on a lot of missions, but in my opinion this one will never be matched. The
towns people were incredible. As the procession approached cars would pull to the curb, the people would hurriedly get out
and stand at attention saluting or with their hands over their hearts. When we left the funeral home and headed to the high
school for the public service the streets were lined with people holding flags and tears running down their cheeks.
It gets a bit difficult to
ride with tears in ones eyes.
Ron Wheatley
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I would personally like to
say” THANK YOU” for your support yesterday in the blistery cold. Lance
CPL Budd M. Cote was the son of my wife’s boss. I was informed of this tragic loss last week while supporting a conference and I was in shock after this
notification. This is the second event that has hit my office in the last 9 months. I had no idea that a group like this existed until I was told about it by Mr. Jim Gabel. He was in the conference with
me when I was notified and proceeded to tell about what the group does. This
was the second military funeral that I have been to in my 20 year career and definitely the most touching. Please pass along my SALUTE to all the members of the group and a big Thank You also.
MSgt
Christopher G. Winston
NCOIC
F-22A TODCU
Nellis
AFB NV
First off I
want to personally thank everyone that made the services, as a Palm employee and the unofficial mortuary liaison, this makes
my job easier. Funeral Directors are very protective of the families they serve
and this can make Egorhh’s job tougher getting the info to these families. When
we have a job well done like this last mission, among others, it helps me with the Funeral Directors. I have to admit that I was very careful in the beginning, watching the NPG's every move, making sure that
everything was perfect and done with dignity. Being in the Funeral Industry I
was somewhat nervous about the NPG. Now I must say that I am a proud member of
the NPG and have the highest respect for everyone involved. This acceptance from
the Funeral business is important and well earned! This high quality service by the NPG for Palm will now help me with the
other local mortuaries since Palm is the local leader and the other mortuaries tend to look up to Palm. (e.g. Ofc. Prendes Service) So Thank you NPG!
Bruce Emens
Palm Mortuary & NPG Rider
