Community members in St. James gathered along the I-44 overpass in the early hours of the morning on Oct. 26 to pay tribute to two fallen U.S. Army soldiers as their remains were transported across the country to their final resting places.

Residents, veterans and first responders alike at 10 a.m. stood at the Exit 195 overpass holding American flags to watch as a column of Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) escorted the cremains of Colonel Daniel Morgan Jones and Private Maurice Kendall, Jr. to their final resting places in Arlington National Cemetery and Marion, Indiana, respectively.

On the overpass, St. James Public Works employees hoisted a massive American flag fixed to one of the city’s bucket trucks, visible to interstate traffic, to which drivers waved, honked in support and even threw up salutes as they passed.

Some, like Keith Livingstone, president of the board of directors of the Missouri Veteran Home Assistance League, waited for almost an hour at the overpass just to catch a brief glimpse of the escort as it passed through St. James at interstate speeds.

Livingstone said he was there to give veterans the recognition they deserve.

“Every veteran deserves recognition when they pass away and there are a lot of veterans that don’t get that recognition because they have no family,” Livingstone said. “And all of us other veterans are their family.”

The cremains of the two deceased servicemen were escorted by volunteers with the PGR of Missouri starting in Springfield with stops in St. Robert and St. Clair. The group is a registered nonprofit organization which works to “ensure dignity and respect at memorial services honoring fallen military heroes, first responders, and honorably discharged veterans,” according to the group’s website.

The organization offers “Pony Express Escorts” for the cremains of deceased veterans of the armed forces. The services’ namesake is the Pony Express, an early form of fast mail service that delivered messages, newspapers and mail by horse-mounted relay riders between St. Joseph, where the historic service started, and Sacramento, Calif.

The Patriot Guard Riders’ Pony Express Escort service involves the careful and dignified transport of remains by volunteer riders, who relay the remains to their final resting places.

The service is provided for free by the PGR for the families of deceased servicemen and women who can’t afford costly transport fees to bring their loved ones’ remains home.

“Unfortunately, there are people out there that cannot afford that expense to have (their remains) shipped or brought.” Patriot Guard Riders Missouri State Ride Captain Shannon Burchett said, “And that’s where we come in.”

Members of the Missouri chapter of the PGR helped escort Arizona PGR State Captain Bill Wooster across the state as he personally delivered the cremains in a multi-day ride from Arizona to Indiana and Arlington. He carried the cremains of Colonel Daniel Morgan Jones, a retired United States Army communication-electronics officer and veteran of the Vietnam War. Jones was a three-time recipient of the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal. He was also awarded the Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal.

Burchett said PGR volunteers help ensure that cremains are escorted with respect and honor as they’re transported across the state.

When Wooster reached Springfield on Oct. 29, where he was scheduled to stay for the night, PGR members helped take the serviceman’s cremains and flags up to his hotel room, where they were given honors and rendered salutes. On the morning of Oct. 30, the same was done as the remains were taken back down to the motorcycle trunk where they spent the remainder of the trip from Springfield to their final resting places.

Also escorted were the cremains of Private Maurice Kendall, Jr, who served in the United States Army as a cannon crewman. He earned the Army Expert Weapons Qualification Badge for the M-16 during his service.

The escort across Missouri also made a stop in St. Robert before passing through St. James to another stop in St. Clair, and crossing into Illinois.

Burchett said she was confident that St. James residents would turn up to pay their respects.

“St. James is already a veteran-affiliated community, so they were going to come out in full force anyway,” Burchett said.

She added that when communities like St. James show up to honor veterans as the PGR escorts pass through their town, it sends a powerful message.

Burchett said that the free, dignified transport offered by the PGR, which they’ve done three of so far this year, means a lot to families.

“When (families) come up to you and shake your hand and say thank you, that’s coming from the heart, you know,” Burchett said. “I think it means the world to them knowing that somebody goes above and beyond for them.”

Bruce LaRue, a combat veteran who served in the armed forces for 23 years, was also in attendance at the flag line in St. James. LaRue said it’s an honor for living veterans like himself to pay a little tribute to those veterans who have passed away.

“We’re celebrating two brothers that died in action. To do this, it just gets to our heart. Being a veteran, I put in 23 years and I’m a combat veteran, twice, and I made it home. It’s sad that our brother die,” LaRue said, adding that for him, being on that overpass to pay respect to fallen soldiers “was an honor — a big honor.”