I went with Dana today to pick Metal of Honor up from Chrome Fusion. She was in the shop having her pipes re-coated. The original black powder coat was flaking off. The new powder coat has a high gloss instead of matte finish. Dana isn't sure he likes it as much, but it will wear MUCH Better and hopefully not flake off.


Here's Dana and Sandy (he did all the hand engraving on Metal of Honor) with the bike inside the shop. As you can see, Sandy is a very busy man with a bunch of projects in the hopper. He says he going to stop doing small projects and focus on full bike jobs, like Metal. So if you wanted an engraved bike, well now you know who to call!



We didn't bring the trailer so Dana rode Metal over to Red Rock Harley where she has to go into the shop again for a factory recall to replace something or other. He rarely gets to ride her and LOVES how loud and fast she is. Don't really get to open her up in traffic since I don't think we went over 40mph. A pretty sedate ride for him, but I did get to drive the large and luxurious Ford Explorer (or whatever this giant SUV is that he owns) behind him on the way over. No way am I letting some idiot get behind him and damage "my" Harley! I usually drive a tiny Nissan Versa and well, you certainly feel much more invulnerable in one of these tanks! Once I figured out where the parking brake was hidden so I could disengage it so it would quit beeping at me, I quite enjoyed the air conditioned seats. It was a mind-numbing 110 degrees in Vegas today, in case you were wondering.

Dana checking out the new tank guard leather piece from Shirley over at BadAss Seats.



Watch out - Woman driver with a camera! (hey, I can poke fun at myself but you better hush!)

During the recent month-long series of celebrations for the 100th birthday of Medal of Honor Recipient John W. Finn, John was more-than happy to carry out a special request to administer the oath of reenlistment for a fellow Navy Aviation Ordnanceman.

This particular reenlistment ceremony was scheduled to take place during the 4th of July Parade held in Coronado, California.

As an aside, prior to the commencement of the dinner party, I brought “Metal of Honor” out the trailer and put her on display in front of the restaurant for the guests and the public to see. And as expected, much of my time during the dinner party was spent chatting with people who asked to take pictures of the bike, as well as having wonderful conversations about the project as a whole.

During the dinner party, Melissa rose to her feet and expressed her deep appreciation for the honor of being selected to have the most-revered Ordnanceman in Naval history, John Finn, administer the oath; and I think there wasn’t one person in attendance who wasn’t deeply moved by Melissa’s words... as she stated: "We're not among heroes, we're among angels."As the party was relaxing after a fine evening meal, Melissa took the time to step outside so as to take a few pictures of the bike to show her fellow Ordnancemen aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
And I have to believe by the shear number of photos Melissa took of the bike that she found it pretty special... what with the Aviation Ordnance community's favorite hero engraved on the tank.

Melissa even got on the phone to tell her friends about the bike as well as how excited she was to be eating dinner with the hero of the Aviation Ordnance world, John Finn.
The following day, Independence Day 2009, brought with it spectacular blue skies and parade fans 12-deep on both sides of the nearly 2 mile long parade route.

And with fellow Aviation Ordnancemen marching in escort of the classic GTO convertible carrying the oldest living Medal of Honor Recipient, Melissa and her mother waited with great anticipation of the arrival of John at the reviewing stand.
With a spotless inspection-ready dress white uniform, AO3 Thorton stood at attention, and with right hand raised, took the oath of reenlistment from the Medal of Honor who her fellow Ordnancemen hold as their greatest example of Naval service.
And what a wonderful gift to remember this special event by, that of a beautifully framed picture of John Finn, along with a copy of his Medal of Honor Citation, and adorned with three separate Medal of Honor challenge coins, another of the Purple Heart, and an Ordnanceman coin; something any AO would be extremely proud to have on their wall.

We had a great visit today with the Las Vegas PHSA Chapter out at Nellis AFB Officer's Club. The Survivors were very moved to see the bike and thrilled to see themselves on Metal's trailer. Quite a few of the officers and airmen going in to lunch stopped to check out the bike as well.


Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Gold (93, oldest member of Las Vegas PHSA) stands proudly with Metal of Honor at the Nellis Officer Club. The Harley Davidson Cross Bones is owned by Dana Harbaugh, Las Vegas author and Navy Veteran. He created the bike with help from several local artisans to honor all those involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor.



Dana shows LV PHSA Chapter President Ed Hall, the detailed engravings that adorn Metal of Honor. The bike features over 100 images telling the story of the attack.


Nearing 90 years old, Las Vegas Survivor Clifton Dohrmann climbed right up on Metal of Honor for a picture. He was just delighted to see the bike and his picture on the front of the trailer. Once up on the bike, he gave Metal a good look over. He seemed very touched by the tribute to him and those he served with at Pearl Harbor.

Many thanks to Cate Berry for making sure security let us in the gate :)

A while back Dana took Metal of Honor over to a local school. He just recently received the sweetest Thank You card from the teacher and her kids.

The USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor is under going a huge renovation in preparation for it's grand reopening in December of 2010. Dana really wants to take Metal of Honor, the truck and the trailer over for the ceremony, but I can't even fathom how much that would cost! So he says to me.. "Hey I bet some high muckety-muck General could make this happen." I started laughing , but then I remember one of my guiding rules in life.. " if you don't ask, they can't say yes!"

So I'm asking. Anyone have any bright ideas on how to get the truck, trailer, and bike to Hawaii for the ceremony ... without it eating up the printing budget for the book, I mean.

Ok, back to the real world now.

David Melchior kindly sent this video over of Dana showing some guests at gathering held Joe & Lil Larkin's house all the engravings on Metal of Honor.





At the Joe Larkin's in San Diego, Dana Harbaugh goes over features of his customized 2009 Harley Davidson that is dedicated to Pearl Harbor survivors. He is explaining to Medal of Honor recipients SP4 John Baca, USA and Colonel Bob Modrzejewski, USMC. Also pictured is retired Marine Captain Joe Larkin. Metal of Honor is a play on words by Dana. His website is: http://www.pearlsofhonor.com. Dana served in the US Navy.

I guess you could say Dana's friend John Finn is a "rock star." The US Navy certainly thinks so, especially all the ordnancemen. Here's a story from DVIDS about a flag that has been traveling the world over to be flown in honor of John's 100th birthday. Second story. Third story

"We all gathered together during flight operations today to honor a man that we respect very highly," said Clift. "Aviation ordnancemen look up to this man for his accomplishments and for his leadership within his rate and his community." The flag that was raised on Eisenhower yesterday has already been flown at sea aboard USS George Washington, USS John C. Stennis and USS Ronald Reagan. It will continue making its way from one destination to the next until it is finally presented to Finn on his 100th birthday, July 23.

Did I mention John got to meet another President this spring?

I presume many have never seen a "Medal of Honor" flag carried in a parade... but since John W. Finn was the guest of honor at this year's 4th of July Parade in Coronado, California... his banner was seen by thousands that day. And of course, the Medal of Honor Recipient John Finn, seated in the back of this beautiful GTO, had Navy Aviation Ordnanceman marching alongside his vehicle.

Nothing could have topped off this wonderful 4th of July day more than the incredible honor I received when two other Medal of Honor Recipients, John P. Baca (left) and Mr. Robert J. Modrzejewski (right) (click on their link to read their MOH Citations) took the time to do their own inspection of the Remember Pearl Harbor Tribute Motorcycle during a neighborly backyard picnic.

Their complements on this project were incredibly moving to this Navy veteran...

Words from these great men can only help to inspire.

If you're on twitter and love our troops, please support #Militarymon or #militarymonday by tweeting out a thank you to someone you know who's served or a cause that helps our fighting folks. Just add the hashtag #militarymon or #militarymonday to your tweet.




Curious how some of our troops spend the 4th of July? More pics and story at Gazing at the Flag blog.

While you and your family celebrate freedom and independence this weekend, take a few minutes to pay honor to those who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom. Remind your children that freedom has a price and this day is not just for fireworks and pool parties.

I've been retouching pictures for the past couple of days. Our photographer did a great job, but Metal is a giant mirror with all that chrome. There were a lot of reflections that had to be removed or disguised. Here are just a few of the final pics.