Photo Gallery Fort Hood motorcyclists braved the early morning chill and gathered at the visitor control center at 8 a.m. Sunday for the 3rd Annual Fort Hood Ride to Remember to honor 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Soldiers who died in combat.
Organizers sold ride T-shirts for a minimum donation of $15 with proceeds going toward maintaining the 720th MP Bn. Memorial.
“There are a lot of motorcycle riders in the battalion,” said Master Sgt. Danny Weakley, 720th MP Bn. S2 Intelligence NCOIC and one of the ride’s organizers. “We tried to put something together so we can honor those guys and honor the Families and to raise money for the memorial.”
For some, the day was personal.
“It’s a significant day for me because some of those Soldiers on the shirt, I went to their memorials,” Maj. Richard Felices, 720th MP Bn. rear commander, said.
After a quick safety brief and a prayer by the battalion chaplain, nearly 40 bikes sped out of the VCC toward Interstate 195 with a police escort. The group stopped at a café in Florence to fuel up and grab a snack. From there they drove in staggered formation to a motorcycle shop in Austin where they joined the Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation’s 7th Annual Capitol Ride for the Fallen.
POMF was formed 21 years ago by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas and is dedicated to maintaining a permanent monument for peace officers killed in the line of duty.
At 11 a.m., more than 450 bikes poured out of the motorcycle shop parking lot onto Interstate 35. The freeway was blocked off by police officers, who cleared the road to a location near the capitol where the group took over three stories of a parking garage.
Riders walked across the street to the Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial Tribute. The Dallas Police Choir, wearing clean-cut, blue police uniforms sang patriotic songs to entertain the audience before the formal event began. They stood out in contrast to the standing-room-only audience of bikers in their bandanas, leather jackets, sunglasses, club T-shirts, windblown hair and chaps.
Chris McGill, CLEAT president, provided opening remarks. There are no words or any actions that could thank these fallen officers for the sacrifices they made, McGill said. If supporters keep doing what they’re doing, their brothers and sisters will not be forgotten, he added.
Law enforcement officers from 18 different states came to Austin to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their calling, said guest speaker Deputy Shane Shepherd, Travis County Sheriff’s Office. That person was not just a cop. That person was a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a little league coach, the man who helped someone change a tire on the side of the road, the one who watched after children as they walked home from school, who came to a stranger’s aid in the middle of the night. They were willing to put their life on the line whether they knew the person or not. They were coming to help, he said.
Texas State Representative Buddy West performed the roll call of officers killed in the line of duty during the past year. A wreath was presented by the Texas chapter of the Untouchables Motorcycle Club to honor the fallen. Austin Police Department bagpipers played Amazing Grace before the 21-gun salute. The ceremony ended with a playing of Taps and the benediction. Riders took a moment to view the marble inscriptions before continuing on the ride.
The Capitol Ride broke into smaller groups which cruised the countryside to a restaurant across the street from the Old Blanco County Courthouse for lunch.
From there they traveled past fields of grazing goats and cows, stunning vistas and tree-lined streets to the final stop, a café in Austin, for drinks and a raffle.
“It went well,” Weakley said. “We had good participation. The weather was good and I thought that everyone was real respectful of what we were doing. They showed up early in the morning. A lot of people were tired. It was cold. The fact that they showed up showed that they were caring about what the cause was and what the ride was about. A lot of people don’t get up that early in the morning on Saturdays but they did it not for themselves but to remember the (fallen).”
Sgt. 1st Class Preston Williams, 89th MP Bde. retention NCO, said he joined the ride to support the unit and to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
“That was an awesome ride,” Williams said. “I thought there was a lot of camaraderie and a lot of people supporting a good cause.”
