HANCOCK COUNTY — The rev of a dozen engines cut through the muggy morning, turning the heads of anyone within earshot.
They rode into the parking lot, one by one. Many wore leather jackets or vests, others had bandanas tied around their heads. The star and stripes fixed to backs of their motorcycles fluttered in the breeze their movement created.
This gang of bikers had a solemn mission: to safely escort the cremains of a fallen warrior to his final resting place.
Monday, a dozen bikers — members of the Indiana chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders — met on the western edge of Hancock County to intercept a procession of their fellows, who were accompanying an Arizona police officer from his hometown in the southwest to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryPaul Lazinsky, an officer with the El Mirage Police Department in Arizona, died in December when he suffered a heart attack while chasing a suspect on foot, according to The Associated Press.
Lazinsky was an Army veteran, who served for more than 17 years with the police department in El Mirage, a town located northwest of Phoenix. He was just 10 months away from retiring when he died in the line of duty.
Lazinsky is set to be buried in Arlington later this week. So for days, Patriot Guard Riders from across the country have been shuttling his cremains from Arizona to Virginia, ensuring they arrive safely and with honor.
The escort came into Indiana from Illinois late Sunday and stopped in Terre Haute for the night. The bikers began their ride again Monday morning, traveling from Terre Haute through Indianapolis and into Hancock County, where they made a pit stop along Mt. Comfort Road and were joined by another dozen riders.
After a short break, they were back on their bikes to continue with the procession along Interstate 70 toward Ohio, where they’d meet members of the Ohio Patriot Guard Riders and let them take over.
As they passed through Hancock County, they were joined by Hancock County Sheriff’s Department deputies. In Greenfield, a crowd of firefighters from the Greenfield Fire Territory greeted them, parking an engine near the interstate and standing respectfully as the guard rode by.
Sights like these are common for the riders, but they never get old, they say.
The Patriot Guard Riders are a dedicated force of motorcyclists, many with military or law enforcement backgrounds, who work to honor their fellow fighters by insure their funerals are respectful gatherings, said Jack Grose, a leader of Hancock County’s patriot riders.
The nonprofit organization was founded in 2005, at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when protests at soldiers’ funerals were common place, he said. The riders would attend the ceremonies and stand, flags in hand, in front of the protesters, serving as a blockade between the picketers and the grieving families.
Now, the volunteers regularly ride along with veterans’ funeral processions, displaying a brand of patriotism they believe is in short supply, Grose said.
There is not a requirement to join their organization, Grose said. Motorcycles aren’t even necessary, he joked, adding that they always need a few four-door vehicles to travel along with them, carrying coolers of water and other supplies.
Those who join just have to be willing show unfettered respect for the fallen and for the years of service they gave to the country, Grose said.
Patriot Guard Riders participate in processions all year, no matter the weather or season, said Kenneth Stevens of Richmond. Monday’s heat and humidity wouldn’t stop them from honoring Lazinsky in their special way, he said.
Riding together, serving their communities in this way, helps these veterans feel connected to one another, said rider Vic Boyer of Greenfield.
Boyer said he’d realized later in life that he’d been carrying a lot of guilty and sadness since he returned from the war in Vietnam years ago. He’d been sent to serve in Germany when so many of his friends and neighbors had gone to the front line. He never understood why and never forgave himself for surviving when so many others didn’t, he said.
But joining the riders, rekindling that feeling of brotherhood and camaraderie, has helped him in ways he can’t describe, he said.