To all Patriot Guard Riders,
My name is Allan Mitchell, son of the late Michael Mitchell. I write this letter today, trying to find the words to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of the Patriot Guard Riders but there are no words. None that could tell you how truly grateful I am to you for not only making my father’s one and only last request a reality but also for being such a huge part of the final chapter of a great life of a great man. With all the unbelievable, wonderful, fond memories I have of my dad, that I will always hold in my mind and in my heart, the day he was put to rest (strange as this may sound) all of you will be a highlight of the memories that I will always cherish for the rest of my life. On August 30th my family and I were on our way to the mortuary to take my dad to his final resting spot and I felt comfort in knowing that he would find peace being with his brothers and sisters who had served and fought for the greatest country in the world. No politician, no movie star could ever takeaway the heart of this country. My father would finally find peace with those that most understood him and him them. I’ll be honest , I haven’t shed a tear since the funeral. I try not to think about it much. I guess I’m not ready to accept the fact that he’s gone yet. Not a day goes by that I don’t reach for the phone to call him. Today as I write this letter I can’t stop the tears from falling. As the tears fall, I realize they are tears of love, they are tears of gratitude, they are tears respect, they are tears not only to thank you for the great honor that you bestowed to my father that day but also of thanks to you and all the veterans who have served, fought and gave up their lives so that we can live in a free country. They are tears of happiness and of being proud when I think of my daughter, Hayden holding the American flag as her grandfather passed by her, a flag that one of you gave up so that she also could honor her grandfather. Like my daughter said when she spoke. “Papa wouldn’t want us to be sad and cry today. He would want us to remember all the fun times and to smile and be happy”. If I may add one thing to that it would be to honor him for the man, the son, brother, father and grandfather that he was. I understand that your main goal is to honor our veterans, and believe me you accomplished that but you also honored the family and for those two things I will always be grateful to you all.
God bless each and every one of you,
Sincerely
Allan Mitchell
PS special note, the granddaughter asked me if I would introduce her to the onlookers so she could talk about her grandfather. She said she was shy, she’s 9 years old. I introduced her & she spoke for 5 minutes. Wasn’t a dry eye anywhere.
