VFW Riders from Post 9808 and American Legion Riders from Post 175, Ray Bassetti, Ron Scoville, Fred Kuester, Dan Ossa, Jack Barbour, Thomas Bynum, Tom and Faith Esker braved the rain to participate with other motorcycle groups from our area to pay final tribute to WWII veteran Andrew Schmitz. He was a USN, fireman first class who died when his ship the USS Oklahoma was attacked by Japanese aircraft in Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941. 429 sailors died on his ship that day. His remains were recently identified and returned to Richmond for proper burial. Hundreds of family members, well-wishers and first responders attended the ceremony at Bliley’s Funeral Home in Richmond. The 60-mile trip from Bliley’s Funeral Home to the Veterans Cemetery in Amelia was unbelievable. An escort made up of motorcycle police officers, motorcycle veteran organizations, and fire trucks made the trip. Many of our motorcycles had American flags snapping in the wind. Patriotic citizens were lined up along the entire route to Amelia County paying final respects to a native Richmonder they did not know. We were all proud to be a small part of Andrew Schmitz homecoming.