Patriot Guard Riders give welcome-home escort to Fort Hood survivor

Patriot Guard Riders give welcome-home escort to Fort Hood survivor
Charlotte Observer
By Lindsay Ruebens
Sep. 22, 2013

Army Spc. Matthew Cooke swung onto a motorcycle Saturday afternoon and rode off to begin what he said will be a new chapter in his life.

Cooke survived five bullet wounds in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings. He was 30. Cooke is finally moving home with his parents in Norwood, in Stanly County, after being honorably discharged from the Army a few days ago. He spent the past four years recovering at Fort Hood, where he was shot three times in the back and once in the groin and a bullet grazed his head.

To welcome him back, some well-wishers and his family greeted him at the American Red Cross Emergency Disaster Operations Center in Charlotte, along with about 20 Patriot Guard Riders who escorted him home.

The Patriot Guard Riders is a national group whose members ride motorcycles and aim to protect dignity and respect for military families, usually at funerals.

One rider blared Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”
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