Warriors' Watch Riders make Marine's wedding day memorable
It was almost as dramatic as walking down the aisle.
When newlyweds Alexandra Kramer of Rolling Meadows and Anthony Baran of Arlington Heights arrived at their reception hall last month, a fleet of nearly 20 motorcycles came barreling up to greet them.
And not just any old caravan of bikes. These were members of the Warriors' Watch Riders, a motorcycle-mounted support group, whose Northern Illinois chapter formed last month to welcome home military personnel.
"It was unexpected, that's for sure," Alexandra says. "But it was so cool."
The caravan used a postal distribution facility in Palatine as their staging area before riding over to the American Legion Hall, Post 208 in Arlington Heights, for the wedding reception.
As they approached, their loud rumble drew onlookers to come out of their homes to watch the parade. Many of the riders displayed patriotic symbols, while the last riders carried a large American flag and a Marine Corps flag.
The Baran reception was their second "drive by" in as many weeks - they saluted a couple in Crystal Lake the week before - and their third this summer, including a wedding in Wauconda, for the bikers, who all formerly rode with the Patriot Guard Riders.
"As they are starting their lives together, we wanted to show them that their country does care," said Jon Dreymann of Algonquin, state coordinator of the Warriors' Watch Riders.
It turns out both the bride and groom are lance corporals in the Marines. They met at Rolling Meadows High School, where both graduated early to enlist. The couple already has gone through 13 weeks of basic training as well as completed additional training in their respective fields.
Alexandra trained in helicopter maintenance for C-53 Skytrooper helicopters. She is scheduled to ship out in January to the Marine base in Djibouti, located on the northeast coast of Africa, on the Gulf of Aden.
Anthony returned from Afghanistan only two days before the reception, and less than two weeks later he headed back to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, awaiting his redeployment to the Middle East. He serves as an aviations operations specialist in a helicopter squadron, that provides close air support to infantry units on the ground.
"We literally had three weeks to pull the reception together," says Judy Kramer of Rolling Meadows, grandmother of the bride. "The invitations were all done over the phone, but to our surprise, everyone came.
"Seeing the motorcycle riders just set the whole tone for the party," she adds. "It was perfect."
After the riders pulled up, they dismounted from their bikes to give the couple a congratulatory salute. One by one, they shook hands with Anthony, and gave the bride a hug. They also presented the couple with a special honor medallion, in recognition of their military service.
"We had no idea that this was planned," Anthony says, "but it felt so good to know that people would do this for us."
In all, the Warriors' Watch Riders consists of nearly 100 participants, Dreymann says, who come from Cook, Lake, DuPage, McHenry and Kane counties.
Nearly all of them formerly rode with the Patriot Guard Riders, but when that group returned to their original mission of providing an honor guard to soldiers killed in action, they switched to the Warriors' Watch, to continue offering more positive support.
"It really is a good feeling to be part of it," says Flaskamp of Gilberts. "We want to make sure ever veteran is properly greeted, and not forgotten like in Vietnam.
"And it's not just the coming home or deployments," Flaskamp adds, "it's letting them know that there's people there for their families back home.
Their motto? "We watch your back."
To find out more about the Warriors' Watch Riders, visit www.warriorswatch.org.