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BLUFFDALE — Motorcycles and summer weekends just go together. For some, there is nothing like the freedom to just hit the open road and ride.
A group of nearly two dozen bikers in Salt Lake County did that Saturday morning, but it wasn't just to have fun. It was to recognize and honor those who helped give us freedom.
"It was an honor to do this. I hope they are up there somewhere going, yes, this was a last ride for them," said Michael Gallegos, a member of the Utah Patriot Guard Riders.
We hear all the time to never forget when it comes to veterans, but at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bluffdale Saturday morning, it was more than just words as those motorcycles showed up carrying the remains of veterans who didn't have anyone else to take them.
'You are not forgotten'
"When they die alone, I feel like a certain part of them has been forgotten, and we step forward as their family, to say you are not forgotten," said Roger Graves.
For more than 15 years, Graves has coordinated the Utah Chapter of the Missing in America Project. It is a group that visits funeral homes and mortuaries looking for any unclaimed remains.
"They only legally have to hold on to them for 60 days. Most of them hold on to them for years. Decades," Graves said.
The group then works with the Department of Veterans Affairs to see if any of those names of unclaimed remains are veterans who might not have had any family or friends to give them the proper military service they have earned. This year, the group found three veterans.
"Military funeral honors, recognize and commemorate the honorable service of our veterans who have given of themselves for our country," Graves said during the service.
The names of the veterans are read and a bell is rung after each name.
After a rifle salute and the playing of taps, an American flag is folded and given to a member of the group since there isn't family or a friend to give it to.
It is the traditional completion of a military service.
The job is never over
"This meant so much. I don't even have the words," said Edna Clingerman, who received the American flag. "I didn't know them, but it is important to be able to acknowledge the men and women who have fought for our country."
Even though the group did that for these three veterans, the job is never done.
"And it will probably never be done," said Graves. "As long as there are people left alone, whether it be of their own will or circumstances, we are out there looking for them."
Those honored Saturday are:
- Roderick Melvin Boyd (1959-2023) U.S. Army, private first class
- David J. Darrin (1951-2022) U.S. Army, specialist four, Vietnam veteran
- Alfred S. Griffith II (1943-2023) U.S. Army, private first class
