Posted on 06/23/2006 10:39:52 AM PDT by Dr. Ed Bravo
The flag that Rick Monday saved from being burned by 2 anti-American hippies in 1976 is making it's way from Florida to Dodger Stadium under escort from the Patriot Guard Riders. Additional to the famous 1976 flag, a flag flown by the 101st Airborne in Iraq will be presented to former Chicago Cubs outfielder who has been a Dodger announcer since 1993. The presentation will be on July 4th at Dodger Stadium.
Monday was an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs in 1976. A year later, he was traded to the Dodgers. Prior to his baseball career, Mr. Monday was a Marine Corps medic for 6 years. After leaving active duty, he became the very first player ever selected in the MLB draft (from Arizona State University).
The two newset members of the Patriot Guard are Rick's wife BarbaraLee and her brother Jamie. They have earned the 'road names' of "Flag Babe" and "Helmet Killer". They are making the entire coast-to-coast journey (mostly) on the backseats of various Patriot Guard motorcycles. Although given only a few days to plan the route and coordinate all the logistics, the Patriot Guard has accepted this challenge and is presently in Illinois.
Here is the tentative schedule:
June 20th Tn Flag carried North on I-65 through Nashville to the Kentucky line.
June 21st Kentucky Flag carried North on I-65 to the Indiana line through Louisville Ky
June 22 Indiana Flag carried North on I-65 to Indianapolis then West on I-70 to Illinois
June 23 Illinois Flag carried West on I-70 through Illinois to St. Louis Missouri
June 24 Missouri Then on I-44 to Joplin Missouri then to the Oklahoma line
June 25 Oklahoma Then through Claremore/Tulsa then open route to Oklahoma City and I-40 then to Texas line.
June 26 Texas Flag carried through Amarillo to New Mexico line
June 27/28 New Mexico (a wide state) Flag carried through Albuquerque to Arizona line
June 29th Arizona Flag carried through Flagstaff on I-40 to Needles Calif Line
June 30/1st California. Finally through Calif to La at the stadium
You can follow the trip and read comments from the riders posted at the link above.
Click here to view video of Mr. Monday saving the flag.
There have been three other threads about the flag-saving event. Some focus on the baseball-side of things. But none focus on the flag being carried across the USA.
Customarily, Patriot Guard Rider missions are somber events. At the invitation of a soldiers' family, the PGR attend funeral services for fallen soldiers. The patriot Guard ensures that honor and respect are given to the soldier and his family. In the case of the Rick Monday flag, however, it is an oppertunity to participate in a much happier occasion.
The Patriot Guard is sub-divided into state chapters. As the flags progress across the nation, each state-based group will hand-off to the next in a semi-formal ceremony. There are even a few riders who are making the entire coast-to-coast trip.
Below, a typical state-to-state transfer:
BarbaraLee Monday is shown at center.
Simply put, the Patriot Guard Riders are Americans doing the right thing.
SFS
They don't. The Marines' medics are all Navy.
Dodger fan and Rick Monday fan here!
Thank you, Dr. Ed, for putting this together. I would not have known otherwise.
What a great event!
BTTT
Outfielder Rick Monday of the Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium outfield on April 25, 1976, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn. (JAMES ROARK: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO)
Thanks so much for the ping. :)
Great story!
Wow. A little misty here. It's the little things that make a difference.
Here's a link one of the PGR folks put up for the Kentucky leg of this mission. Hello fellow PGR members, yep, I'm one too.
http://www.janettetemple.com/flagbabekywelcomecenter
And a link from Oklahoma
http://www.danzfamily.com/archives/2006/06/patriot_guard_r.php
The Army has medics.
The Marines have Corpsman from the Navy who train with the Marines and wear the uniform of the Marines.
My dad was a corpsman with the 1st Marine Div. in Korean War. Awarded purple heart and bronze star.
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