Biking for the troops

AmCan man organizes rides on motorcycles to honor soldiers

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

After chatting with his fellow riders as they stood near the old American Canyon Police Station, Al Donaldson walked toward his Harley Davidson.

“Let’s go,” he said. It was 7:45 a.m. sharp on a Saturday as the group revved their engines and took off on Elliott Drive.

Saturday’s mission: Lay wreaths on veterans’ graves at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon. Their effort was part of Wreaths Across America, a national event to honor former members of the armed forces.

Donaldson, 56, is a local coordinator for the Patriot Guard Riders, a nationwide group of volunteers who attend military funerals, welcome soldiers home from war, visit the wounded and participate in patriotic events.

A few weeks before the ride to Dixon, Donaldson and his fellow Patriot Guard Riders rumbled to Sacramento International Airport to welcome home David Miller of American Canyon, a U.S. Military staff sergeant reservist, as he returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq.

“It’s for all of them,” said Donaldson.

He stressed the group only wants to convey respect for soldiers. “The Patriot Guards are neither for or against the war.”

Doug Lyvere, a retired Marine sergeant and Vietnam War veteran from south San Jose, coordinates about 350 Patriot Guard Riders in the Bay Area and beyond. He stressed the group is “very apolitical.”

Donaldson, who moved to American Canyon in 1980, rode motorcycles in his youth.

He quit riding motorcycles until three years ago, when he bought a new Harley-Davidson at the suggestion of his wife, Liz.

He was introduced to Patriot Guard Riders through a fellow member of the Mt. Diablo H.O.G. chapter in Walnut Creek.

The Patriot Guard Riders, a growing group of 155,000 members, started in 2005 in Kansas after veterans and others heard that members of a fundamentalist church were disrupting military funerals of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Their mission was to escort and shield military families — who requested their presence — from the protesters.

Donaldson immigrated from Scotland in 1973. He said he grew up appreciating and respecting the military and was appalled at what was going on. So he began to volunteer.

Since 2006, the retired Chevron reliability analyst has attended military funerals in the Bay Area, including the Napa funeral of U.S. Army Private First Class Jennifer Cole.

“The whole message,” he said, “is that people actually care about (the soldiers)”.

As a captain of the organization, he schedules meeting points. Donaldson said members come from all walks of life.

Those who rode to Dixon Saturday include Sindy and Mike Biederman of American Canyon. Sindy Biederman leads American Canyon Troop Support, the grassroots organization that ships care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Riding with the Patriot Guard Riders gives her the chance to show her appreciation for the veterans and their families instead of telling them, Biederman stated in an e-mail.

Her son is about to be deployed for the third time.

“It is heartwarming to know that there wonderful people like Al and the members of the (Patriot Guard Riders) who not only appreciate my son’s military service but who understand the sacrifices our men and women make while serving,” she said.

Each December, the Register profiles county residents who share the spirit of community service. The people highlighted in the Sharing the Spirit series quietly go out of their way to make life better for others.

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