Marine-Afghanistan Amputee Gets Wheels

Custom-ordered Harley brings ‘freedom’ to disabled St. Augustine veteran
Florida Times Union
By Beth Reese Cravey
Posted February 27, 2017

Brandon Long had wanted a motorcycle since he was a kid.

Salesman John Armstrong hands Brandon Long the keys to his new motorcycle as he walks him through the features of the custom Harley-Davidson the Adamec dealership on Baymeadows Road in Jacksonville created for him. Long, 26, a Marine veteran who lives in St. Augustine, ordered a three wheeler configured with hand control to cover the functions normally controlled by the rider's feet.
Photo Bob Self Florida Times Union.

Long thought that dream would go unfulfilled after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on Marine Corps deployment in Afghanistan in December 2010. He said he died — and was resuscitated — eight times, lost both legs and spent two years in physical therapy.

“When I came back injured, I didn’t think I would be able to ride,” Long said.

Still, the dream persisted.

So Long and John Armstrong, a salesman at Adamec Harley-Davidson dealership on Baymeadows Road, spent about a year studying the motorcycle options for a double amputee in a wheelchair. And on Feb. 16, Long, now 26, arrived at the Jacksonville dealership to meet his brand-new Freewheeler, a three-wheeled motorcycle with all custom hand controls.

Long, who had waited a long “two months and two days” for the bike to arrive, was ecstatic.

“It was amazing,” he said last week. “Just absolutely amazing.”
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Amputee Marine Rides Harley Again With Help From Friends

Modified Harley allows Marine who lost leg to ride
Monroe News
Ray Kisonas
October 11, 2016

On Saturday, with a little help from his friends, Mr. Smith achieved his latest accomplishment by riding his 2009 Harley-Davidson Sportster without fear of his prosthetic foot striking the pavement.

MILAN — When the mortar blast took his leg below the knee during the war in Iraq in 2006, Corey Smith, a Marine from Luna Pier, refused to feel sorry for himself.

In fact he actually tried to return to his unit after being fitted with a prosthetic only to be told his combat days were over.

Undeterred, Mr. Smith came back home, earned a college degree, got married and now works at the federal prison in Milan.

On Saturday, with a little help from his friends, Mr. Smith achieved his latest accomplishment by riding his 2009 Harley-Davidson Sportster without fear of his prosthetic foot striking the pavement.

“It was so much better; I was very comfortable,” Mr. Smith, 29, said among 170 other bikers who rumbled into Milan to support veterans. “I didn’t have to worry about my foot dragging.”
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PTSD: Wisconsin Veterans Community Souls of Honor Motorcycle Ride

Souls of Honor motorcycle ride raises nearly $4200 for local veterans
WSAW 7 News
By Holly Chilsen
August 13, 2016

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) -- The loud rumble of motorcycles filled Central Wisconsin Saturday for the annual Souls of Honor motorcycle ride.

The event took off at 11:00 a.m. from the Harley Davidson in Wausau and went to Hatley. The entire trip there and back is close to 100 miles.

Ron Worthey, the organization's president, said Souls of Honor was established about three years ago to meet the needs in the community when it comes to veterans' care.
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Kentucky Wounded Marine's Purple Heart Harley Stolen

Veteran robbed of custom Purple Heart motorcycle in Florence
Man heard engine start, saw person take off on bike
WLWT News
By Emily Wood
Mar 12, 2016

This is the ride he survived in Afghanistan

FLORENCE, Ky. —A local Purple Heart recipient is at a loss without his beloved Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Marine Combat Veteran Brandon Bailey's custom-painted Purple Heart Harley was stolen from his mother's driveway in Florence Sunday evening.

Bailey said he was at his mother's house with his wife for dinner and parked his bike parallel to the garage.

"I've been riding motorcycles since I was just a little guy," Bailey said.

Bailey enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998 and was in Afghanistan in 2009 when his unit was hit by an IED. The Humvee he was in landed on top of him, crushing his pelvis, breaking both hips and his back.

His doctors told him he would never walk again, but Bailey was determined to not only defy their orders but get back on his bike.

Dealing with the pain from his injuries, more than 20 surgeries and PTSD, riding his bike became an escape from it all.

"That's my release. You have guys that go to war and they do things a human shouldn't do and they see things humans shouldn't see, so you need that release or you are going to explode or implode," Bailey said. "I fought cowards all over the world and then I come here and someone comes and takes a possession of mine."
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Fort Bragg Command Sgt. Major Killed Riding Harley

Fatal collision of two lives leaves a community in mourning 
Fayetteville Observer
By Greg Barnes, Staff writer
January 25, 2016

Fort Bragg Command Sgt. Maj. Lynn Edward Ratley had been around the world, leading soldiers and helping people in need.

He had worked at medical centers in Germany and Afghanistan, served as chief clinical sergeant major at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and, most recently, commanded troops with Fort Bragg's 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion.

Justin Andrew Dunlap hadn't been much of anywhere, save for a stretch in a South Carolina prison.

The paths of the 47-year-old military leader and the 26-year-old convicted sex offender crossed eight days ago, in a screeching tangle of rubber and steel near the intersection of West Mountain Drive and Gillespie Street.

Fayetteville police say Dunlap's black 2000 Honda Accord was traveling south on Gillespie Street when it crossed a grassy center median, veered into oncoming traffic and smashed into Ratley's 2015 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
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Armed Robbers Learn Don't Mess With Marine on Harley

Former Marine helps halt suspected serial robbers
KHOU 11 News
Rucks Russell
December 30, 2015

HARRIS COUNTY — Harris County Sheriff’s deputies and Houston Police placed a northwest Harris County apartment complex on lockdown Wednesday as they combed the area for a group of suspected armed robbers thought to have struck the La Michoacana Meat Market on Spring Cypress Road.

Justin Knight, a former Marine, was at a nearby when

four suspects robbed a La Michoacana Meat Market in

northwest Harris County on Wednesday. (Photo: KHOU)

Justin Knight saw what was happening from his seat in a nearby bar. Then the former Marine hopped on his Harley Davidson and did what he had to do.

“I can’t stand a thief,” said Knight. “I realized I couldn’t chase them down, so I jumped on the motorcycle and I chased them down. And when I got up to them, they happened to be flipping through the money and there was a sheriff’s deputy sitting right there.”
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Crime Stoppers (Fresno La Michoacana Aggravated Robbery)

Orlando Nam Knights Bike Week Pary

Orlando Nam Knights Annual Bike Week Party

In the kitchen

and on the grill not happy to see the camera when they were busy

Fritz, President of Nam Knights Parent Chapter 

Memorial Stone for Eternal Chapter

Yes, the dog at some food but don't tell the cook.  It was really good.

And yes, the Nam Knight family is expanding.

Parents to be!

Video up tomorrow. I am tired!

Here it is!