More than 300 motorcycle riders turned out Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual Memorial Motorcycle Run in honor of Jonathon Coté, who was kidnapped and killed in Iraq while working as a private security contractor.
In the on-and-off rain, the group rode from Williamsville North High School, from which Coté graduated, to Lewiston. The motorcycle ride represents Coté’s fun and active personality, his family said.
“[Jonathon] saw the motorcycle as a way for freedom,” said his father, Francis Coté.
Proceeds from Sunday’s ride will go to a scholarship for a local high school student and to Western New York Heroes.
For family and friends, it didn’t matter how soaked their clothes were when they completed the ride. Instead, they focused on remembering Coté and celebrating his life.
Coté served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Army, and later went back to Iraq as a security contractor. In 2006, he and four others were kidnapped, and their bodies were found a year and a half later.
His story is the subject the book, “Big Boy Rules – American Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq,” by Steve Fainaru, who was on hand for the ride. Fainaru won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles he wrote for the Washington Post on private security contractors.
“I have so much respect for the Cotés,” Fainaru said. “They’re great friends and it’s a good reason to see them and be with them.”
Fainaru met Coté in Kuwait while he was investigating the world of private security contractors in Iraq. Coté was kidnapped a week later. He then became the subject of Fainaru’s book, which led to Fainaru developing a close relationship with Coté’s family.
Private security contractors are nongovernment affiliated organizations that contribute to security forces in war zones. The practice has been somewhat controversial, because private contractors operate largely outside the rules of the American military, and the deaths of mercenaries are not recorded in the official U.S. military death tolls.
“Jon died almost anonymously,” said Fainaru, on why he felt it was important to share his story. “It’s really important to remember his service.”
Sunday’s ride also honored the service of Billy Wilson, a young man from Getzville killed in Afghanistan four months ago. The riders tossed yellow carnations in his honor on the lawn of the home of Wilson’s parents.
For the Wilson family, who have supported the ride for the past three years, Sunday was an emotional day.
“The past three years we’ve been out there, waving our flags rain or shine,” said Billy’s father, Bill.
Coté’s brother, Chris, came up with the idea for the memorial motorcycle ride. It’s the perfect way to remember Jonathon, said his stepmother, Nancy, because he was always active and looking to have fun.
“He wasn’t a super serious guy. He was always active, super-active, hyperactive,” she said with a laugh after the ride Sunday.
The fun associated with the ride is a testament to the way the Cotés strive to positively remember Jonathon.
“They haven’t lived in a perpetual state of mourning,” Fainaru said. “It’s really such a positive thing and I really admire that.”

email: kronayne@buffnews.com