“Cycle to Celebrate” is the idea of Kaye Jordan, a Gold Star mother from Weatherford, Texas, whose 19-year-old son, Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, was killed in action Nov. 29, 2010, in Afghanistan. Staggs was one of six gunned down by a rogue Afghan border policeman who fired on his American trainees.
“Cycle to Celebrate,” part of the Legacies Alive program, raises awareness for families who lost loved ones in service. This cross-country ride from San Diego to New York City is a 9/11 Remembrance Ride, somewhere Kaye and Austin wanted to visit after his deployment. Kaye’s wish for this journey of healing was to connect and exchange stories with as many Gold Star families as possible.
“As time goes on after the initial shock and burial and all the attention they’re getting, that kind of fades away and there they are. The additional support is something that could be uplifting to them,” she believes.
On the initial ride, Kaye was joined by Michael J. Perich (whose son went missing September 28, 2008) and other fellow Gold Star families. Along the way, they stayed in hotels, and occasionally families hosted them overnight; some VFW posts cooked lunches and dinners offering a chance to hear stories of other families’ sons and daughters.
Jordan would go on to serve as the President of the Parker County Gold Star Families, a position she took on after her son’s Weatherford High School friend, Clayton Beauchamp, was killed in Afghanistan. She also coordinated efforts to build a veteran’s memorial park in Parker County which includes a prayer garden, a pavilion, a Gold Star memorial monument, and walk of honor for the Veteran’s Memorial at Soldier Spring Park.
Kaye describes her son Austin as the sort of young man who brought out the best in people and did his part to ensure that everyone felt welcome. After losing him, Kaye has made it her mission to keep his memory and the memory of other fallen soldiers alive by supporting the causes of Gold Star Families.
