Completed Mission Report
On July 10th, 2008 the Minnesota National Guard gave the Minnesota Patriot Guard the honor of escorting the members of 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Back to their Armories. All five units were escorted from the WI state line to their armories by members of the Patriot Guard and Minnesota State Patrol. Kudos to those who rode escort as many of them rode in some severe weather to make sure these solders were escorted home! Despite the storms all of the units were escorted from the state line by members of the PGR!

Members of the Patriot Guard and State escorted F Co 2/135 IN to the Armory in Austin, MN. They were met by local Law Enforcement and Emergency services in Mower County. The Patriot Guard set up a flag line for a short welcome home ceremony at the Armory. Most of the PGR members then left Austin to be in Albert Lea on time for D Co. James Clayton, ARC, was the RCIC for the Austin Welcome Home. Great Job JC!

(Following submitted by Todd Waller)

Mission report of the homecoming of the 2/135 IN BN Red Bulls located in Albert Lea, MN. The weather was good in Albert Lea, warm and a nice breeze. at the staging area , and briefing we avoided all the severe weather, but the bus and all escorts had their hands full , thank goodness all were safe from the weather. you can tell they are all good seasoned riders in how they anticipate a bad situation. we had minute by minute updates, as the itinerary changed, but were very close to right on schedule , as the troops arrived. the pg riders, the sheriffs dept, the police dept, the fire dept., the city of Albert lea ,the state patrol , and all surrounding emergency service personnel from near by towns, then escorted these soldiers thru the city of Albert lea by 54 motorcycles! what a sight!. the residents and the businesses of the city of Albert Lea really came together to show their support by welcoming home these soldiers, the streets were lined with proud folks, as we lead the busses thru the city of Albert lea. as soon as the pg riders got to the armory we hurried to assemble our flag line and the troops filed off the bus and into the armory for a presentation set by the city and the armory, we then formed more flag lines at the entrances, so when it was all done, again would have a flag line for them to walk thru. as the welcome home commenced it was very humbling to see the closure on the faces of all soldiers and family, all were smiling from ear to ear , i even heard a toddler tattling on her brother, to her dad. (Welcome home Dad) thanks to all, for allowing me to be part of this great day! Todd Waller

There were many people who worked very hard behind the scenes to make these Welcome Homes a success. One of them needs a special mention in my opinion. John "Kingpin" Redfield spent much of the day at the Dresbach Rest Area co-coordinating the escorts. He made our jobs a ton easier!

Another would be Lt Nancy Silkey of the Minnesota State Patrol Rochester Division. She found a way to have Troopers escort every unit to the Armories. No easy task if you as me!

I want to thank all of those who helped make this Welcome Home a success.

Kenneth M. Delano, Sr
Ride Captain, Albert Lea Sector