This Fourth of July, We Celebrate Our Country and Our Vets
Harley-riding hero reminds us why we should be thankful every day — not just on designated holidays.
Fourth of July is obviously a special holiday here in America. It marks the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence back in 1776, which also marked the birth of the United States. But the signers of that very document put, quite literally, their lives and the lives of their families on the line. They knew the odds were against them, but they stood in the face of tyranny and fought for their (and our) freedom.
That freedom didn’t come without great sacrifice, and we’ve made great sacrifices since to keep it. So, in addition to celebrating our country this Fourth of July, we’re also paying tribute to those who have fought for it, like Gary Wetzel (pictured) and his good friend and helicopter pilot Timothy Artman, the subjects of a compelling new video profile from Harley-Davidson (above).
Both Artman and Wetzel served in Vietnam and it was there that they found themselves flying into a “hot LZ” (landing zone) amidst heavy gunfire. Artman managed to land the chopper even after sustaining serious wounds. Wetzel emerged to help Artman, despite having to “tuck my arm inside my pants so it wasn’t flopping.” Wetzel held his friend, trying to comfort him. But sadly, Artman didn’t make it home to his wife.
Despite his injuries, Wetzel helped numerous other soldiers get medical attention that day. Those efforts netted him a Congressional Medal of Honor award, which today he says he “wears for everybody because it’s part of all of us.” Wetzel also honors his friend each year at the Rolling Thunder memorial ride in Washington, D.C.
‘Look into that flag and think about the sacrifices men and women
have given you and I to be here. That’s what it’s all about.’
After losing a limb from the war injuries, the hero is able to ride his Harley thanks to a special arm assembly that he helped design. The mechanism allows him to pull the clutch and ride just like anybody else. Wetzel calls his bike “my independence.” He revels being able to “sit on that iron horse, [with] thousands of people yelling, waving, screaming.”
So this Fourth of July, while you’re cooking up tons of food and enjoying your friends and family, take a minute and think about the many others that have fought to protect this great country, including fellow Harley enthusiasts like Wetzel. We think he says it best: “Look into that flag and think about the sacrifices men and women have given you and I to be here. That’s what it’s all about.”
