PORTLAND, Ore. — A customized cart designed for the transfer of the caskets of fallen soldiers will pass through Portland on Thursday on its way to a dedication ceremony Saturday at the San Francisco airport.
The procession transporting the cart left Seattle at 7 a.m. Thursday morning. It will stop at Paradise Harley-Davidson in Tigard at around noon, where the Washington chapter of the Patriot Guard, which is escorting the cart, handed off the cart to riders from Oregon during a short ceremony.
The carts are part of the Alaska Airlines Fallen Soldier program. They are decorated with American flag curtains, blue paint and red carpet. Alaska Airlines has dedicated carts in Portland, Seattle, Anchorage, San Diego, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Washington D.C. and Dallas.
The dedicated carts are available for any airline to use when transporting the remains of fallen soldiers. (Story continues below)
Corey Lederer, whose brother-in-law John Pelham was killed in Afghanistan while serving as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, rode with the Patriot Guard on Thursday.
"This means the world to me being a gold star brother," he said. "To see the outpouring of the community, and to see the support from the Harley dealership here in Paradise, and to see the support from the Patriot guard and all of those involved, including the press, it just means the world to us, especially those who have family members who have been killed in action."
The carts are part of the Alaska Airlines Fallen Soldier program. They are decorated with American flag curtains, blue paint and red carpet. Alaska Airlines has dedicated carts in Portland, Seattle, Anchorage, San Diego, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Washington D.C. and Dallas.
The dedicated carts are available for any airline to use when transporting the remains of fallen soldiers.
