Hello to all, My name Is Mark, currently residing in the People's Republic of New Jersey. I have always loved the Military as they are true hero's. I am 48 and have never served in the Military. As a kid I first saw the movie "Patton" with George C. Scott and I was hooked on learning about WWII. I also grew up watching the old movies of WWII on t.v. I am currently a Harley mechanic. Prior to that I was a NYC Police Officer from '83 to 2003, when I retired. When I was a kid I wanted to join the Military or the NYC Police (2nd generation), since President Reagan had not yet had the chance to build up our Military yet, I went to the NYPD. I am very Pro American, even to the point of being nationalistic. I am also very conservative and do not support the GOP or Dems. I am very conservative. The Politics, actions and ramifications of WWII really interest me. Growing up, I thought WWII was a "cut and dry" war with no gray areas. Now I realise how complicated it really was. I hope to learn a lot on this forum.
G'day Mark. You make an interesting addition to the crew, welcome. Were you on duty during 911? (my apologees if this is an inappropriate question).
Thanks for the welcome CAC. I was not there on 9/11. The night before I had an arrest and didn't get out of my Brooklyn Precinct until 5 AM. I got to bed at 6 AM on 9/11. I was awoken by a call from my Precinct to report to work. I turned on the tv and saw the news coverage and saw both towers were hit. I packed some toiletries and headed to my command. I had to take the Verezanno Bridge from Staten Island to get into Brooklyn. It was sealed off and I had to show my shield to get through. On the bridge, I saw both towers were down with a humongous plume of smoke. My command was seperated from Manhatten (where the WTC was) by NY Harbor. When I arrived at the Precinct, there was an inch of dust on the streets. It was like walking on the moon. The day tour units were held at the WTC. I was assigned a foot post securing my Precinct. I did not go to the WTC until 9/12. I was shocked at the devestation. I remember being close to tears when a lady had a computer print out of her 19 year old daughter who was a secretary at the WTC. She was in silly poses like any 19 year old was. I didn't have the heart to tell her her daughter was gone. Unfortunately I promised to keep an eye out for her. One friend of mine volunteered (because no one else would) to use a sawzall to cut away a corpse (at the neck) to gain access to a pocket where they hoped were survivors. Another memory is all the volunteers who sacrificed so much to cater to us at the WTC. Constantly thanking us, when we could no nothing and they did so much.
Thanks everyone. Yes I own 2 late model Springers. One with and FL rear fender and the other with a bobtail fender. Both are foot clutch, one jockey shifted the other tank shifted.
