(Tribune News Service) — Hundreds of motorcycles rumbled along the roads of eastern Lancaster and Chester counties in Pennsylvania on Saturday to honor Marine Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, who gave his life at age 25 while deployed in Iraq in 2006.

The riders, consisting of friends, family, veterans and people who never knew Hardy, gathered at the Gap Community Church before heading out to Calvary Monument Bible Church in Paradise Township, where Brandon is buried, and passed through his hometown of Cochranville, Chester County, where members of the community lined the streets.

The memorial ride has been held every year since Hardy’s death in 2006 as a way to remember a man who dedicated his life to service and raise money for a scholarship that bears his name.

For Brandon Hardy’s mother, Jill Hardy, the ride is an annual reminder of the impact her son’s life had.

Brandon Hardy was a 1999 graduate of Octorara High School with dreams of serving in the military and a love of horses, fishing and Penn State Football. His family said from an early age he was a “country boy.”

“He was a cowboy through and through,” Jill Hardy said, noting her son was often seen wearing a cowboy hat and boots. “He was an awesome, awesome son, and we miss him terribly.”

‘We looked up to him’

Brandon Hardy’s desire to serve never wavered, and after high school he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served for six years at bases in Texas, Washington and Germany. During his time in the Air Force he was deployed three times to the Middle East.

Mikey Kresser, an Air Force veteran, served with Hardy during his time at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, and remembers Hardy as someone who always pushed him to be better.

“We would challenge each other to keep our uniforms in the best condition,” Kresser said. “We learned a lot from each other.”

Kresser, who still works at the base, was Hardy’s roommate during his time at Fairchild, and nearly two decades after Hardy’s death, he is still affected by the loss.

“When he was killed, all these memories piled up at once,” Kresser said, beginning to tear up. “Being here helps me emotionally deal with that loss. His family took me in and treated me like one of their own.”

In 2005, Hardy decided to leave the Air Force and join the Marines, forgoing his Air Force rank and pay and starting from the bottom. Jill Hardy said her son decided he could do more for his country as a Marine.

After basic training, Brandon Hardy was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While there, he served alongside fellow Marines Travis Miller and C.J. McIntosh, both of whom traveled from Ohio to be at Saturday’s memorial ride.

“He was tough and no-nonsense,” Miller said. “He was older than us and had already been in the military for a while. We looked up to him.”

Miller and McIntosh said they remember how eager Hardy was to return home and get married. Just prior to his deployment he had proposed to his girlfriend.

On April 28, 2006, while on patrol in Al Anbar, Iraq, a Humvee carrying Hardy and four other Marines struck an improvised explosive device. He and two other marines were killed.

Hardy would posthumously receive a Purple Heart, and a section of Route 41 that passes by his home would be named in his honor.

A growing legacy

The first memorial ride was held just months after Hardy’s death and was organized by his mother alongside family friends Chad and Doris Miller, of Caernarvon Township, Pa.

Chad Miller said the Hardy family was there for him when his brother was killed in a midair collision while serving in the Army in 1986.

“When Brandon died we wanted to show her (Jill Hardy) the same support she gave us,” Chad Miller said.

For the past five years the motorcycle riders have been joined by a Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopter flown by Liberty Warbirds, a Lancaster County nonprofit that restored the Vietnam War era helicopter and flies it at educational and memorial events.

During this year’s ride, the helicopter conducted a flyby over Hardy’s gravesite.

Proceeds from the ride go toward the Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy Memorial Scholarship, which is given to men and women entering the armed forces to pay for items required but not issued by the military.

Hogs and Heroes Foundation, a nonprofit made up of motorcyclists that support first responders, veterans and Wounded Warriors, gave $1,200 toward the scholarship.

Zachary Landis, a 2025 Manheim Township graduate who is joining the Air Force in the fall, received this year’s scholarship.

The scholarship has issued $167,000 to new members of the military since its creation.

Jill Hardy said each year she is touched by the outpouring of support shown by the community, and the number of veterans who come from around the country remember her son and donate to the memorial scholarship.

She said Brandon would do it all over again if he could.

“I always say this, and I know in my heart it’s true: If Brandon were here today, he would say the same as Nathan Hale is reported to have said,” Jilly Hardy said, referencing the American Revolutionary War hero. “ ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’ “

© 2025 LNP (Lancaster, Pa.).

Visit lancasteronline.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.