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We all know that tomorrow is a day of remembrance for our servicemen and women in uniform who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their (our) country. To date, our country has had 42 million soldiers in service and about 1.2 million deaths (combat + non-combat) during a time of war. Today, our military is doing what they do best over in the Middle East - Afghanistan & Iraq.

Admittedly, I do not have any military members in my family. My grandfather was in boot camp in 1918 headed of for WW1 when the War ended. After that, we have a legacy of tinkerers and brake engineers. I mention this because this year I was planning on doing a ride (by myself) in the name of all of those to be honored on Memorial Day. That was my plan…my secret. Well, I forgot to check with my planner - that would be my wife. We are in lockdown for the weekend for reasons that involve my 2.5 year old daughter and I probably cannot go.

The idea to dedicate a ride is not original nor will it bring back any of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines but its a way…a humble, quiet way for me to show my respect. A friend of mine named Dave (Mr. COB for Crabby Old Bastard) is where I got the idea. As a Vietnam veteran, he would dedicate his rides to those who have fallen from any casualty of life (war, motorcycle accident, etc.). Anyway, I liked the idea and since Mr. COB is lacking in the copyright department, I stole it.

I need a favor. I need somone to dedicate a ride for me for those we are remembering. I’d appreciate it greatly.

My guess is that this guy in the story below probably will get out for a ride tomorrow. My guess is that he’ll never forget the sacrifice our current military personnel are giving. His story is an incredible one, and while all of it may not be above the fray, this guy has my admiration. Check it out:

Harley-mad in Baghdad, the atypical story of ‘Mr Muscle’

BAGHDAD (AFP) - When he belches around Baghdad’s old quarter on his spotless Harley Davidson, Kadhem Sharif, a powerlifting champion sporting wrap-around sunglasses, makes for an unlikely sight.

And the 53-year-old is fully aware that his passion for one of the most recognizable symbols of the American way of life is not to everybody’s liking in post-war Iraq.

But his garage is a carbon copy of any Harley aficionado’s den in the United States, complete with posters of naked “babes on bikes”.

And his collection of 40-plus motorbikes provides a condensed history of 100 years of national turmoil.

“This Norton was built in 1914 and became part of the escort of King Faisal, Iraq’s first monarch,” says Kadhem, 53, as he proudly gives a tour of his modest garage.

About half of his motorbikes are Harleys. “I was 12 when I sneaked out on my father’s Harley for the first time. I bought my first one eight years later, a 1966 Fatboy,” Kadhem recalls.

When Saddam Hussein’s feared elder son Uday helped himself to one of his favourite Harleys, “it was almost like losing a child”.

“Uday came back after the 1996 assassination attempt against him and ordered me to convert the bike into a three-wheeler because he was handicapped… I started hiding my best Harleys because I was afraid he would take more.”

When Saddam’s army invaded Kuwait in 1990, it returned to Iraq with the Kuwaiti police’s entire fleet of ‘King of the Highway’ Harleys.

“I bought dozens of them. Throughout the nineties, I made a good business. I would take them apart, smuggle them up north to Kurdistan and reassemble them. I would sell them mainly to Dutch expatriates living in Sulaimaniyah,” he says.

“It was a bit dangerous though. I was arrested in 1995 and spent four months in prison.”

Kadhem readily admits that several of his bikes were stolen in neighbouring countries and smuggled into Iraq.

But he also discovered some of his collection’s most precious pieces by combing the countryside for vintage motorcycles rusting away in the field of an unwitting farmer.

One is a 1947 British-made BSA he spent months repairing. The fin-like plate on the front fender reads “Anbar province”, an area of western Iraq notorious for insurgent violence since the 2003 US-led invasion.

“I found it in a tiny village between Fallujah and Ramadi. But I’ve had to stop going to this part of the country,” he explains.

Despite the intimidating size of his chest and forearms, the former Iraqi bench press champion, known to his friends as ‘Mr Muscle’, now risks an icy reception in insurgent strongholds as his face has become one of the symbols of the overthrow of Saddam’s regime.

On April 9, 2003, Kadhem was one of the first to rush to Baghdad’s Fardus Square and pictures of the burly Shiite hacking away at the marble plinth of Saddam’s giant statue were beamed live around the world in one of the most enduring images of the regime’s ouster.

“People in the neighbourhood know me. I get on with everybody. US soldiers used to block the road so they could spend some time in my garage,” Kadhem says.

“They sometimes bring me copies of motorcycling magazines and even bought me leather boots. I’m still in touch with one of them who is saving up all his money to buy my Harley chopper.”

Why is this a big deal? Why admire a guy simply because he rides motorcycles?

To me its a big deal for a couple of reasons:

First, I think the guy either has a death wish or he’s a optimist. I’m leaning towards the latter. Think about the fact that he is riding around Baghdad (a city still very much at war) on something that screams United States America second to only the desert camo’d Marines. This region is still full of insurgents, yet he continues to ride one of the most prominent American icons of all time through town (giving the mental middle finger to the past).

Second, he gets it. According to the article, he knows first hand what a tyranny is all about with Uday taking one of his bikes, then demanding Kadhem alter the bike to meet his post-injury needs. Regardless of the fact that he’s a powerlifter and probably an all-around badass, he complied knowing the likely alternative was the eternal dirt nap so readily issued by the Husseins. No, this is not what the troops are fighting for literally, but figuratively… He was there at the famous scene when Saddam’s statue was pulled down. My guess is that he has seen it all.

Third, he’s a biker and it sounds like he always has been. I hate to admit it, but he’s probably much more of a biker than I. I don’ think I would have the guts to go outside in Baghdad, but surely not on something that is so flagrantly red, white, and blue.

Since he seems to be a hit with the troops, I’m willing to be he knows what tomorrow is all about. I’m also willing to bet that he will never forget those Americans (among other nationalities) who have fallen to spread freedom in his homeland. Nah, he’s not a hero. But him riding his bike…his American bike…through a region at war represents what that country needs: Balls & Perseverance. I can picture the scene of him pulling on to the street tomorrow thinking “Let’s Roll”.