The annual Memorial Day Ride, sponsored by Ridge Runners chapter #58 of the Pennsylvania State Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education, was held this year on Saturday, May 24, with more than 100 motorcycles in the procession.
Starting in Newport, Perry County, riders meet with a second group of motorcycles at Fort Hunter, then ride together into Indiantown Gap National Cemetery at around noon. “It’s a stirring sight to watch the leading motorcycles entering with full-sized flags flapping in the wind, followed by well over 100 bikes in the group,” Gary Heuer of Myerstown told LebTown.
Everyone in the procession assembles at the Pennsylvania Memorial for the ceremony, which begins with the National Anthem, an invocation from the Rev. Marty Macdonald, and opening remarks from Ridge Runners president Dan Buckley.
Addresses were given by state Rep. Russ Diamond and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Major Joseph Staudt (retired). Doc Bauer directed the Field Cross Burial Ceremony, explaining the significance of each item used, followed by a 21-gun salute and closing remarks by Ridge Runners membership officer Teresa Miller, and Taps.
“It was a very touching event,” Heuer said.
The biker community was well represented by many groups, with the majority American Legion Riders, he noted. His group, the Iron Peacemakers chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, has been participating in the event for at least six or seven years, he said.
Heuer said attendance this year was “a bit lower than usual,” with perhaps 200 bikes and 300 people at the event.
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