Battle of the Bulge BMW

I felt some of our members would enjoy this, especially the guys who went through the "Battle of the Bulge" during World War II.

I was about 18 years old and working at a very small Harley shop in Portsmouth, Virginia. At that point my professionalism had probably reached the, "Adjust the rear chain on a WLA," stage. The boss came in and said, "Take the side hack and run up to Suffolk, and see if you can get these guys running."

Away I went with a handful of tools and rode the 15 miles to the tourist cabins where they were staying. When I pulled in the yard my heart stopped beating. Here were two young kids, just back from the war, with a Rommel BMW sidecar outfit – driven sidecar wheel and all. They had agreed, in a foxhole in Belgium that if they lived through the war, they would take a bike and see the USA until their money ran out. Well, the shock came when I arrived and found they had the entire transmission disassembled, cleaned spotlessly and laid out on a bed sheet. I took one look and wished them well. I never heard from, or saw them again. I'm sure there are still a bunch of guys that went through that hell on earth that can relate to this little tale.

Thanks for listening,
Eddie Boomhower

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