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Posted on 07/15/2011 1:27:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Over the years, Jerry Booth has seen many patriotically themed motorcycles but never one as ornate as the one he saw when he traveled to Tennessee a few years ago.
Booth, a veteran and the organizer of this year's West Virginia Harley Owners Group Rally, saw the bike at a rally there three years ago. He loved it and the message it carries so much that he invited the owner to the event in Charleston.
Tod "Weirdo" Wooldridge, owner of the 1986 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, happily accepted.
The bike is decked out in American regalia. It's painted front to back with red and white stripes and portraits of veterans. Just like the bike itself, each portrait has a story behind it.
The bike originally belonged to Wooldridge's uncle, Robert V. Wooldridge, who grew up in Ansted, Fayette County, before moving to Chicago. Robert served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
His uncle sparked Wooldridge's interest in Harley-Davidson motorcycles when he was 17. The pair rode around the country together.
In 2004, the uncle was supposed to come to Tennessee to ride again with his nephew. But the elder Wooldridge died three weeks before he was supposed to make the trip.
He passed the Electra Glide on to his nephew,who traveled to Chicago to pick up the bike and spread his uncle's ashes.
He then rode the bike back from Chicago to his home in Riceville, Tenn. He decided he would put the bike in the garage after he got home to keep it out of sight. Seeing it brought back too many memories of his uncle.
"I let it sit for a year and a half, and then I decided to do something patriotic with it," he said. "I wanted to honor the troops and my uncle."
And honor them he did. A friend worked on the paint job every day for 13 weeks. A portrait of his uncle taken right before he shipped out to Vietnam was painted on the front of the motorcycle.
Portraits of Sgt. David Weir and Sgt. John Sullivan, friends' sons who were killed in Iraq, were painted on the tour package, a part of the bike used to hold gear and other items. An image of his father's dog tags is on the back next to one of his uncle's.
The biker's father, Larry Wooldridge, was a Korean War veteran.
Paintings depicting every branch of service also adorn the motorcycle, including one of the U.S.S. Enterprise. A painting of the Vietnam Wall also can be found on the bike.
A large American flag flies behind the bike. Under the flag sits a plaque memorializing veterans who gave their lives for their country.
"The bike turns a lot of heads," he said. "And it touches the veterans."
He also came up with a way to continue riding with his late uncle.
I like the exhaust cannon
They did that with a military tribute bike on American Chopper. I wonder if this one spins when the bike is running?
sorry
It looked like it was spinning and the bike was running in the video.
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I didn’t watch the video, I just looked at the pics.
Cool bike anyway.
heck I’m lucky I even looked at the article
Great article and video. Thanks Martin for the FMH ping!
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