thedrifter
10-01-08, 02:45 PM
At 82, Road Beckons to WWII Vet, Biker
October 01, 2008
Richmond Times - Dispatch
Bruce Heilman is a pinstripe sort of guy. Except when he's wearing his leather pants, black boots and Marine Corps do-rag tied around his head. You've got to look the part when you're planning to ride your Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Did we mention Heilman is 82?
Did we mention he's about to embark on a 3,000-mile cross- country trip on his bike, a Harley Ultra-Classic Electra Glide Patriot Edition, nearly a half-ton of black-and-chrome rolling thunder? He's scheduled to leave Richmond on Wednesday and arrive at the Marine Corps Air Station near San Diego less than three weeks later.
Just because he's headed west, however, doesn't mean he's riding off into the sunset. The relentless Heilman is simply hurrying down the highway because he's burning daylight and still has a calendar full of appointments.
"Part of it is the adventure itself, and maybe part of it is the fact I am at an age when most people would say, 'I'm putting my bike away; I'm too old for that sort of stuff,' " said Heilman, retired president of the University of Richmond and now its chancellor.
First bike at 72
Heilman wants you to know he is most definitely not too old. In fact, it was only 10 years ago - when he was 72, after almost 50 years of not having a bike - that Betty, his wife of 60 years, finally told him, "You're old enough to have a motorcycle," and presented him with a Harley for their 50th wedding anniversary.
Last year, he bought a new one.
Now, he will retrace his steps - though headed in the opposite direction - of those days after serving in the Pacific during World War II when he hitchhiked home from California to Kentucky and then on to the Marine Corps Base at Quantico.
He's beyond excited.
"I'm also paying tribute to the 16 million World War II veterans, of which I am one ... what [Tom] Brokaw called 'The Greatest Generation,' " said Heilman, the father of six and grandfather of 11. "I'm representing that crowd, and I'm going to prove I guess that we're still the greatest. We can still sit astride a motorcycle and ride cross-country at age 82. Those who want to treat us as if we're too old, we're going to prove otherwise."
Marine Corps and UR Spiders flags will fly from Heilman's bike. He will carry along copies of his recently published memoir, "An Interruption That Lasted a Lifetime," and it wouldn't be surprising if he came back with a few checks for the university. He has a reputation as a legendary fundraiser and unparalleled storyteller who has a gift for being able to engage anyone in conversation.
His wife and some of his children will drive along ahead of him. He will meet with Marines and UR alumni along the way and anybody else who might want to ride along.
Skibo Adams wishes he were among them.
"I'll tell you what, I'd love to be going with him," said Adams, controls operator for UR's facilities department who also owns a Harley and often rides with Heilman on excursions around central Virginia. "This is quite a feat, especially for somebody that age. But he's something else."
College courtesy of GI Bill
Heilman served as UR's president from 1971 to 1986, overseeing the early stages of the school's remarkable transformation - fueled by the $50 million gift of E. Claiborne Robins in 1969 - from an institution on the brink of going broke to one recognized today as one of the most well-endowed, well-respected small universities in America.
Not a bad legacy for a man who wasn't much of a student in high school and hoped to become a truck driver. His experience in World War II and the Marines - with a boost from the postwar GI Bill - led him to college first as a student and ultimately as a career calling.
"I never decided what I wanted to be," he said. "I took a major in college because they said I had to. I still haven't decided what I want to be, but I like where I've ended up."
Ellie
October 01, 2008
Richmond Times - Dispatch
Bruce Heilman is a pinstripe sort of guy. Except when he's wearing his leather pants, black boots and Marine Corps do-rag tied around his head. You've got to look the part when you're planning to ride your Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Did we mention Heilman is 82?
Did we mention he's about to embark on a 3,000-mile cross- country trip on his bike, a Harley Ultra-Classic Electra Glide Patriot Edition, nearly a half-ton of black-and-chrome rolling thunder? He's scheduled to leave Richmond on Wednesday and arrive at the Marine Corps Air Station near San Diego less than three weeks later.
Just because he's headed west, however, doesn't mean he's riding off into the sunset. The relentless Heilman is simply hurrying down the highway because he's burning daylight and still has a calendar full of appointments.
"Part of it is the adventure itself, and maybe part of it is the fact I am at an age when most people would say, 'I'm putting my bike away; I'm too old for that sort of stuff,' " said Heilman, retired president of the University of Richmond and now its chancellor.
First bike at 72
Heilman wants you to know he is most definitely not too old. In fact, it was only 10 years ago - when he was 72, after almost 50 years of not having a bike - that Betty, his wife of 60 years, finally told him, "You're old enough to have a motorcycle," and presented him with a Harley for their 50th wedding anniversary.
Last year, he bought a new one.
Now, he will retrace his steps - though headed in the opposite direction - of those days after serving in the Pacific during World War II when he hitchhiked home from California to Kentucky and then on to the Marine Corps Base at Quantico.
He's beyond excited.
"I'm also paying tribute to the 16 million World War II veterans, of which I am one ... what [Tom] Brokaw called 'The Greatest Generation,' " said Heilman, the father of six and grandfather of 11. "I'm representing that crowd, and I'm going to prove I guess that we're still the greatest. We can still sit astride a motorcycle and ride cross-country at age 82. Those who want to treat us as if we're too old, we're going to prove otherwise."
Marine Corps and UR Spiders flags will fly from Heilman's bike. He will carry along copies of his recently published memoir, "An Interruption That Lasted a Lifetime," and it wouldn't be surprising if he came back with a few checks for the university. He has a reputation as a legendary fundraiser and unparalleled storyteller who has a gift for being able to engage anyone in conversation.
His wife and some of his children will drive along ahead of him. He will meet with Marines and UR alumni along the way and anybody else who might want to ride along.
Skibo Adams wishes he were among them.
"I'll tell you what, I'd love to be going with him," said Adams, controls operator for UR's facilities department who also owns a Harley and often rides with Heilman on excursions around central Virginia. "This is quite a feat, especially for somebody that age. But he's something else."
College courtesy of GI Bill
Heilman served as UR's president from 1971 to 1986, overseeing the early stages of the school's remarkable transformation - fueled by the $50 million gift of E. Claiborne Robins in 1969 - from an institution on the brink of going broke to one recognized today as one of the most well-endowed, well-respected small universities in America.
Not a bad legacy for a man who wasn't much of a student in high school and hoped to become a truck driver. His experience in World War II and the Marines - with a boost from the postwar GI Bill - led him to college first as a student and ultimately as a career calling.
"I never decided what I wanted to be," he said. "I took a major in college because they said I had to. I still haven't decided what I want to be, but I like where I've ended up."
Ellie