Thank you to our Veterans
As we celebrate Veterans Day, we take a look back at Harley-Davidson’s storied United States military service record. 2016 marks 100 years since General John Pershing (yes, that General Pershing) faced off against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. General Pershing’s force included something new to the battlefield: iron horses.
The Harley-Davidsons that were part of Black Jack’s brigade were outfitted with sidecars that had machine guns attached to them. Imagine yourself as a Mexican revolutionary on a horse for a minute, staring down a fire-breathing iron stallion with two United States Army soldiers riding right for you. Soon after this conflict along the United States-Mexico border was resolved, the United States government placed an order directly to the factory for some more of these iron horses to aid them in battle during World War I.
By the end of World War I, upwards of 20,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles had found their way around the globe, helping military efforts across battle lines and foreign borders. From Milwaukee to Munich and back again, Harleys proved a valuable addition to wartime efforts.
And when the world went to war again twenty years later, the Motor Co. was there. This time, over 90,000 motorcycles were produced for use in various Allied military installments across the map.
Harley Davidsons continued to be of use to the United States military until the last MTs were rolled out in the late nineties. Since then, thousands of veterans from all branches of the United States military have enjoyed the freedom they fought and sacrificed to ensure for the rest of us behind the handlebars of Harleys and we are proud to support the current and former members of our great United States military. We are thankful for your service and we are agrateful for your sacrifice!
The Harley-Davidsons that were part of Black Jack’s brigade were outfitted with sidecars that had machine guns attached to them. Imagine yourself as a Mexican revolutionary on a horse for a minute, staring down a fire-breathing iron stallion with two United States Army soldiers riding right for you. Soon after this conflict along the United States-Mexico border was resolved, the United States government placed an order directly to the factory for some more of these iron horses to aid them in battle during World War I.
By the end of World War I, upwards of 20,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles had found their way around the globe, helping military efforts across battle lines and foreign borders. From Milwaukee to Munich and back again, Harleys proved a valuable addition to wartime efforts.
And when the world went to war again twenty years later, the Motor Co. was there. This time, over 90,000 motorcycles were produced for use in various Allied military installments across the map.
Harley Davidsons continued to be of use to the United States military until the last MTs were rolled out in the late nineties. Since then, thousands of veterans from all branches of the United States military have enjoyed the freedom they fought and sacrificed to ensure for the rest of us behind the handlebars of Harleys and we are proud to support the current and former members of our great United States military. We are thankful for your service and we are agrateful for your sacrifice!