Steve was a Viet Nam Veteran who died from his being exposed to agent orange. He served in Viet Nam and Germany and was honorably discharged. I met Steve when he brought me his 1939 WLD 45 Harley to do some fairly major work on. One of his last rides was taking that old iron down the freeway to my shop. When he pulled up on this old girl his face was grinning and he was jazzed. He owned this bike for some time but he was what I call a fleet owner and had several bikes. He told me the 39 was his favorite. Kickstart your iron and follow me over the hump.
Soon after I started the project on his 39 he got ill. He was in and out of the hospital for months. He proposed to his widow last Christmas and was truly head over heels. He had so much going and it all ended at 59 years of age. His funeral consisted of an honor guard on Harleys and military Honors at the grave site. I was DAMN proud today to be part of that procession of bikes. I was proud of the Honor Guard. I was proud of the Soldier who played taps. And proud of all the Veterans who payed thier respects today. Took my 48 the long way for Steve a Brother in life.