We saddled up around 1:00 that afternoon and hit the road. The procession lasted about 10 minutes as we ran from Polish Club in South Hadley to Beech Street in downtown Holyoke. The ride was preceded by the local police and followed by the man of honor, Sgt. Josh Bouchard, bringing up the rear in a vintage Pontiac GTO.

I'll never forget pulling out of that parking lot, Josh in the back seat of that car, both arms in the air waving, a huge smile on his face, and I believe I saw tears streaming down his face. The site brought a lump to this bikers throat and mist to my eyes.

The South Hadley and Holyoke Police had all major intersections shut down between our starting and ending point allowing us a smooth ride all the way in. There were folks here and there along our riding route, most waving flags.

As we arrived on Beech Street, we ran into a wall of people. All were cheering, many waving flags and signs welcoming Josh home. There was a beautiful, massive flag suspended from two of the local fire departments ladder trucks right over Beech Street. It was all a little overwhelming.

We turned into a parking lot, immediately killed the bike and began filming the rest of the procession. It seemed like it went on forever! My niece, Chelsea, was handling video while I positioned myself across the street to take some still shots.

The processing went on and on, motorcycle after motorcycle. Just when it seemed like it may never end, the "colors" came through. These were the folks flying full sized flags off of their bikes. They were followed by a bagpipe marching band, and the Color Guard. Finally, the blue GTO came into sight. People where yelling their thanks and many even reaching into the car to shake Josh's hand personally.

There was a young child in a wheelchair sitting next to me with his mother. He had a sign in hand welcoming Josh back home. When the GTO neared the area we were located, it stopped for a moment. The mother wheeled he child to the side of the car and asked Josh if he would autograph the sign. He obliged, and then did something that brought a tear to my eye. Joshed leaned over, and took the youngster's hand in his own and held it for a few moments with a great big smile on his face.

It's funny, a good friend of mine went to high school with Josh. She'd just phoned him the day before the event. Josh had expressed to her that he didn't understand what the big deal was. How humble!

Let me see if I can sum it up for you man. It's guys and girls like you who volunteer to put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, our way of life, and allow us to be the greatest country on earth. I am truly grateful for all you've done. The sacrifice you've made so my children can live a life of freedom. Without folks like you, we couldn't do the things we do, good, bad or ugly.

On behalf of me, my family and several friends who've asked me to pass on their well wishes, THANKS!

The video above runs about 10 minutes. We're going to be pulling together a longer, DVD version of the video which we'll make available for purchase here on the site. 50% of the proceeds received from the sale of this video be sent to NEADS, an organization that helps place assistance canines with wounded soldiers just like Josh. This is a charity we already support and a great oppotunity to support it again! If interested, e-mail icreswell@coolbikerides.com for more information.