Patriot Guard Riders honor ex-Navy SEAL

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) - The badges of honor adorn a weathered black biker vest.

On Tuesday Robert Stancil, and others like him in the Patriot Guard Riders, will rise at the opportunity to lead another fallen service member, ex-Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, to a final resting place.

As similar processions have done, the Patriot Guard will offer symbolic protection on a final and noisy, but somber, ride. 

“It's nice to catch the attention of people," Stancil said. "They realize it's not just a hearse coming down the road, a normal funeral. This is somebody that should be special to all of us.”

Stancil has ridden with the Austin area Patriot Guard for the past six years. He says he's expecting the largest procession he's ever been a part of, perhaps hundreds of bikes long as the group snakes its way to the Texas State Cemetery in Austin’s east end.

“ The notoriety of Chris Kyle is what’s pumped this one up so hard. Even though he’s not a KIA [service member killed in action], there’s still a lot of interest in it," said Stancil.

Iraq War veteran Eddie Ray Routh has been charged in the Feb. 2 killings of the ex-Navy SEAL and his friend, Chad Littlefield, at a North Texas gun range.

Ahead of the hearse carrying Kyle, Stancil said the Patriot Guard Riders will likely follow a lead car in the ride.

The procession will make its way down Interstate 35 past Central Texas interchanges in Georgetown, Round Rock and other towns where people are saying via Facebook that they'll pause to honor the chief petty officer who made a career as a first-class sniper.

The role of the Austin chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders at Tuesday’s funeral service will be to form a line of flags around the inside perimeter of the Texas State Cemetery.  It’s a place of honor, Stancil says, for a fallen hero.

“It's always a sad deal. This is really a sad deal. He went through hell and did so much for us and was doing so much for our guys," he said.  "Ever since he's been out, he's been working with other vets trying to help them along after they get out. And to have this happen to him, it's double tragic. It really is.”

Service members and patriots will appreciate that a fresh Texas state flag will adorn the cemetery. The 50-foot-wide by 36-foot-long flag at the northwest end of the cemetery was due to be replaced this spring anyway.

Groundskeepers at the cemetery confirm it will be unfurled and raised ahead of Tuesday’s service.