The motorcycle riders gathered last Friday for a POW/MIA Recognition Day event on the Seaplane base sought to honor and remember those Americans still counted as prisoners of war or missing in action.

A contingent of motorcycle riders affiliated with local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7392 turned out for the event. These riders are everyday people such as T.K. Lundin, veteran’s wife, sister of a Desert Storm combat soldier, and primary road captain for the VFW motorcycle group.

“My whole family is military,” said Lundin. She went on to say that her husband’s cousin’s name is listed on the Vietnam Wall.

“For us, it’s very personal,” she said. “We provide a rolling honor guard for fallen warriors. And we also support missions for their families.”

The riders and others at the ceremony seek to build support for efforts to free prisoners of war, and to apply pressure on other countries to return American service members’ remains. They put an equal amount of energy into supporting the affected families.

Lundin and nearly all of the VFW riders are also members of the Patriot Guard Riders, which number nearly 250,000 nationwide.

The Patriot Guard is a relatively new organization, less than 10 years old, which seeks to promote reverent remembrances at service members’ funerals while at the same time shielding grieving family members from uninvited protest groups.

“It’s sort of an irony,” noted Lundin, “that as a group, we’re such strong supporters of our American rights, which include freedom of speech, and the right to peaceably assemble.

“But we’re just as strongly opposed to intrusion on the family members at their loved ones’ funerals,” she continued We are committed to meeting these unwanted intrusions by using the purely legal, nonviolent, and peaceful means at our disposal,” she said.

Friday’s observance in honor of POWs and MIAs took place under partly sunny skies, with a gentle breeze blowing. But the weather, of course, would not have altered their plans, said Lundin.

“I remarked to someone that I was pleased to see sunshine this morning,” said Lundin. “Rain or shine, though, our plans were to ride today.”

The PGR, distinguishable by the yellow armbands worn on their left sleeves, led the procession onto the Seaplane base in a missing man formation. VFW rider Thomas Catoire served as the “tail gunner” for the procession, ensuring that all riders arrived safely onto the base, with no mishaps or mechanical breakdowns.

Some riders desire to honor those they, or family members, knew personally. Catoire is one of these.

“My dad served in Vietnam,” said Catoire. “He still has friends over in Vietnam who are counted among the missing.”

One of the highlights of Friday’s ceremony was the reading aloud of names of former

MIAs, some from all the way back to World War II, who had been repatriated in the last year. That is bound to be a deeply significant event for their family members, said VFW rider and former Air Force Major Al Comeau.

“I have two comrades whose remains were not returned until about five years ago,” said Comeau, a Vietnam veteran.

“Sometimes, I think about my friend’s daughter — for 35 years, she didn’t know where her dad was.”

Comeau’s reasons for riding are two-fold, he says.

“I ride in honor of their lives and service, and I ride out of respect for the living family members.”