Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia, and I also thank the leader of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), as well as my chairman from the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) for their support of this resolution, as well as my colleagues from Kansas.

Many good things come from Kansas, including the Patriot Guard, but in response to something that is less than desirable, and that is a radical Topeka, Kansas-based church that has been disrupting funerals of service members now for several years, with picketers that appear at those funerals during and holding signs that read, “Thank God for IEDs,” and, “Thank God for dead soldiers.” No Kansan, no American can respond to that in any way but the way that it has been described by my colleagues today.

But in 2005, the American Legion Riders of Post 136 in Mulvane, Kansas, responded by bringing their motorcycles and themselves to those funeral services where they provided a buffer between the protesters and the families of those deceased service men and women. They decided to take action and called themselves the Patriot Guard, and they organized their supporters from across the country to attend those funerals and shield our military families. They waved the American flag, sang patriotic songs, and took lawful and peaceful action to serve as a barrier between the families and protesters. Their actions preserved the dignity and honor of these funeral services and allowed the families a peaceful time of mourning on that day of service that they so much deserved.

This movement has now spread from Mulvane, Kansas, across the State and around the Nation. The Patriot Guard Riders now include thousands of members who volunteer their time to come to the aid of military families at funerals to show their respect and, when needed, to shield families from disruption. Members include veterans and non-veterans, riders and non-riders, and they have successfully performed hundreds of missions across the country not only supporting the fallen and their families, but also providing comfort to those who serve today, knowing that their families would be protected should they fall.

The significance of these volunteer actions is realized when you read letters of appreciation written by family members and friends of the deceased. I would like to mention a letter that the Patriot Guard received from the family of Corporal Peter Wagler. I attended that funeral in Hutchinson, Kansas, at the Nazarene Church on February 10, 2006. Corporal Wagler was killed in Iraq at the age of 19, having served only a month in Iraq, and his family wrote the Patriot Guard Riders:

Thank you so much for your amazing support at the funeral of our son Peter Wagler. Despite the cold north wind, you rode many miles to participate. I have never seen such a display of flags as we encountered when leaving the church. Many people have told me how meaningful the flags were to them; many shed tears as they drove through the tunnel. As for your protecting us from the demonstrators, when we arrived we looked for them, but we could not see them, and we never did. Peter loved motorcycles and planned to get one when he finished his term in Iraq. He will not get to do that, but he would have loved the tremendous display you put on. Our family feels inadequate in expressing our thanks, but please know that we deeply appreciate what you did for us.

God bless you,

David for the Wagler family.