thedrifter
10-05-07, 03:40 PM
Custom motorcycle honors wounded
Posted on: Friday, October 05, 2007
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald
Gregory Schisler Sr.'s son was serving as an Air Force firefighter in Iraq and would tell stories about flying in an area after a roadside bomb attack.
That's what first prompted Schisler to thinking about wounded service members. Then he started reading stories about what wounded soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen go through and knew he wanted to help.
It wasn't until he watched an episode of "American Chopper" that he knew what to do. In the episode, bike builders constructed a trike for a paraplegic person. A trike is a three-wheeled motorcycle.
Schisler decided that he would get a trike made and painted with Purple Heart emblems and take it on a tour across the country. The trike appeared in Copperas Cove on Tuesday and Wednesday, and is in Killeen through Saturday.
Schisler is a former biker who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. He is confined to a wheelchair, but getting on a trike suited to his needs gave him a sense of independence, he said. That invigorated him to do more.
"Now I'm just going full steam again," he said.
He wants the Purple Heart trike to do the same for any Purple Heart recipient, from any war era.
At the end of the yearlong tour in September 2008, a Purple Heart recipient from the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or Coast Guard will be chosen to receive a custom-made trike. Schisler is accepting nominations, and information on the process can be found at www.dreamtrike.com.
Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 1, 2008, according to information from the site. Five finalists will be chosen and then a winner will be drawn.
Hopefully, getting a trike will put some new hope in that person's life, Schisler said.
Schisler's wife, Cheryl, retired from her job of 15 years and the couple now hits the road with their high-top custom van and the trike. They will visit military installations across the country and already are receiving requests from veterans groups to make appearances.
The trike's next stop is Albuquerque, N.M.
Schisler's son thought it was cool when his dad first told him of the projects, but he didn't believe him.
"Nobody believed me," Schisler said with a laugh.
It was through determination that he made the project a reality. He says that he hasn't received one negative response about the Purple Heart trike, and service members have even cried when seeing it.
His family is familiar with military life and its hardships. Besides his son, Schisler's two nephews serve in the Army – one is deployed to Iraq now – and his niece is in the Air Force.
Schisler needed to do this project, he said.
"I feel in my heart I should," he said.
Any individual can do their part, and should do whatever they feel can fulfill that.
"Take the step and do it," he said.
Through this project, Schisler has gained a greater appreciation and respect for the military. He feels pride when meeting with those who come to see the trike, and said those visits have touched his and his wife's hearts.
It's something he overlooked before, but now he looks at those service members differently, he said.
The trike will be at Patriot Pontiac Buick GMC at 4600 E. Central Texas Expressway in Killeen through Saturday.
Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at astair@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7547
Ellie
Posted on: Friday, October 05, 2007
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald
Gregory Schisler Sr.'s son was serving as an Air Force firefighter in Iraq and would tell stories about flying in an area after a roadside bomb attack.
That's what first prompted Schisler to thinking about wounded service members. Then he started reading stories about what wounded soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen go through and knew he wanted to help.
It wasn't until he watched an episode of "American Chopper" that he knew what to do. In the episode, bike builders constructed a trike for a paraplegic person. A trike is a three-wheeled motorcycle.
Schisler decided that he would get a trike made and painted with Purple Heart emblems and take it on a tour across the country. The trike appeared in Copperas Cove on Tuesday and Wednesday, and is in Killeen through Saturday.
Schisler is a former biker who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. He is confined to a wheelchair, but getting on a trike suited to his needs gave him a sense of independence, he said. That invigorated him to do more.
"Now I'm just going full steam again," he said.
He wants the Purple Heart trike to do the same for any Purple Heart recipient, from any war era.
At the end of the yearlong tour in September 2008, a Purple Heart recipient from the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or Coast Guard will be chosen to receive a custom-made trike. Schisler is accepting nominations, and information on the process can be found at www.dreamtrike.com.
Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 1, 2008, according to information from the site. Five finalists will be chosen and then a winner will be drawn.
Hopefully, getting a trike will put some new hope in that person's life, Schisler said.
Schisler's wife, Cheryl, retired from her job of 15 years and the couple now hits the road with their high-top custom van and the trike. They will visit military installations across the country and already are receiving requests from veterans groups to make appearances.
The trike's next stop is Albuquerque, N.M.
Schisler's son thought it was cool when his dad first told him of the projects, but he didn't believe him.
"Nobody believed me," Schisler said with a laugh.
It was through determination that he made the project a reality. He says that he hasn't received one negative response about the Purple Heart trike, and service members have even cried when seeing it.
His family is familiar with military life and its hardships. Besides his son, Schisler's two nephews serve in the Army – one is deployed to Iraq now – and his niece is in the Air Force.
Schisler needed to do this project, he said.
"I feel in my heart I should," he said.
Any individual can do their part, and should do whatever they feel can fulfill that.
"Take the step and do it," he said.
Through this project, Schisler has gained a greater appreciation and respect for the military. He feels pride when meeting with those who come to see the trike, and said those visits have touched his and his wife's hearts.
It's something he overlooked before, but now he looks at those service members differently, he said.
The trike will be at Patriot Pontiac Buick GMC at 4600 E. Central Texas Expressway in Killeen through Saturday.
Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at astair@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7547
Ellie