Patriot Guard

Patriot Guard
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Patriot Guard captain Tom Godfrey stands in front of his Knoxville home holding one of 150 American flags he keeps to hand out to other Patriot Guard members at military funerals. Five funerals for combat deaths have been held at one Galesburg church since 2005. Godfrey is a Vietnam Army veteran with a daughter currently working as a contractor in Iraq and two other children who have also served there. Flying over his house is a flag he keeps at full mast 24-hours a day, in honor of the troops currently serving in Iraq. The Patriot Guard is a group formed in 2005 that shows respect to fallen soldiers and shields mourning families from protesters at military funerals. It has more than 80,000 members. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR