On June 11, 2011, the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 20 awarded the Patriot Guard Riders of NY with the 2011 Community Service Award.  As Patriot Guard Riders, we are not in this for awards or recognition.  It's not about us, we do it because it's the right thing to do.  However, it is a very great honor to receive this award from a group that was founded 30 years ago by veterans searching to find meaning, redemption and honor in having served in what was a very unpopular war.  It is my hope that this award will inspire you as it has done me, not in a spirit of vanity, but in the spirit in which it was given.  It is also my hope that it will remind you that what we do is very important.  What we do is important not just to the Gold Star families who lost their loved one, it is important to the Blue Star families who live every day with the fear of a knock at the door.  It is important to those who are currently serving and to those who have served.  It is important to our Vietnam Veterans who vowed that the next generation of veterans not be abandoned.  It is important to continue to model this respect to our communities and to our young people.

This award belongs to all of you.  Think of this the next time you stand a mission.  Whether it is this week or next month or next year; whether you ride a motorcycle or not; whether you are a veteran or not.  Thank you for standing for those who stood for us.

Respectfully,

Laurie Martin
Board of Directors