His Children Refused to Claim a Homeless Veteran — But 53 Bikers He'd Never Met Rode Hundreds of Miles to Show That Family Isn’t Always Blood. It started with a single phone call on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. The funeral home director’s voice trembled as she explained the situation: A 71-year-old Vietnam veteran named Richard “Doc” Patterson was about to be cremated by the state—alone. No service. No military honors. No family. His own children had refused to attend. His daughter said she was to