Otis
Needs a job
Captain Kickstand
Posts: 3028
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posted August 02, 2004 04:07 AM
A Marine and his motorcyle. Great story.
Union City Marine receives motorcycle miracle from businessman
By Julie Kay, CORRESPONDENT
UNION CITY -- When the nearby bomb exploded as Marine Cpl. Korey Calloway was disarming roadside explosives in Fallujah, Iraq, the images that flashed before his eyes were of his family and, he admits, his motorcycle.
"The first thing I did after the explosion was look to see if my front two fingers were working," said Calloway, referring to the fingers necessary for controlling a motorcycle's brake and throttle.
Thoughts of going home, seeing his family and getting back on his bike had given the 21-year-old Marine something to look forward to through months of firestorms and ambushes.
Some might call it a miracle that Calloway is alive -- a nearby platoon probably saved his life when it picked him up after the explosion and rushed him back to the base. He spent three weeks in hospitals in Fallujah, Germany and San Diego before returning home with serious injuries to his arm and leg -- and a Purple Heart.
The last thing he expected in Union City was another ordeal -- and another miracle.
Calloway got back on his 2003 Yamaha R1 only days after returning home, immediately after picking it up from the repair shop, where it had been for an agonizing five days.
"I shouldn't have been on it," he said, but the ride "felt good."
As he rode home through the evening air, he said, he thought about his earlier days riding with military buddies while stationed in Georgia. Some of them died in Iraq. He wished they were with him, he said.
He parked the bike in his front yard, locked the wheel and spent the night watching "Cheaper By the Dozen," with his sister and cousin. When he walked outside at 4 a.m., the motorcycle was gone.
"I started shaking," he said. "Even in Fallujah, all the times we were shot at, I never shook."
Calloway called the police, who took a report but were unable to locate the bike. In a single moment, Calloway's time at home went from rejuvenating to devastating -- not just for him, but for his whole family.
"As a Marine, my son is trained to protect everyone, even the thieves that took his bike," said his mother, Sharon. "He was awarded a Purple Heart for his
courage and bravery abroad, but he never expected to engage in battle on the home front for this."
But when word began to spread about what had happened to her son, the family began receiving telephone calls from people who wanted to help.
Several offered to start trust funds or to donate funds. One told them that he had a son who was still in Iraq and that he wanted to help.
Then there was the call from Brit Hahn, a San Francisco businessman, who said he wanted to buy Calloway a new bike.
His mom remembers saying to her son, "Are you sure it's legit? Are you sure it's not a scam?" Her son told her he thought it was for real.
The timing couldn't have been better; he was scheduled to get on a plane the very next day to return to San Diego, where he will undergo another surgery and several months of physical therapy before his service ends in October.
Hahn and Calloway arranged to meet at Golden Gate Cycles in San Francisco, just hours before Calloway's flight.
Hahn presented Calloway with a new blue 2004 Yamaha R1 -- manufacturer's suggested retail price: $10,699 -- already paid for.
The appreciation was mutual, Hahn said.
"I was deeply grateful and honored just to look that young man in the eye and shake his hand and tell him, 'Welcome home,'" he said.
Asked what possessed him to buy the bike, Hahn replied: "I just believe in supporting people man to man. That, and I strongly believe in performing random acts of kindness. It may be in paying the bridge toll for the person behind you, or changing someone's tire, whatever you can do to reach out to your fellow human being and form a bond."
The unexpected act restored Calloway's faith in humanity, his mother said.
"You could tell he was just relieved and happy, feeling like he was complete again," she said, adding that she was inspired as well.
"You see the really bad part of people and you think there's not a ray of hope," she said. "But to see someone like that who would do that without a second thought, without even knowing you -- I'm just amazed."
  
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Hells Dark Lord
Needs a life
living life, and loving it.
Posts: 7981
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posted August 03, 2004 11:50 AM
that rocks.......
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When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
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deathpulse
Pro
Posts: 1688
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posted August 03, 2004 03:05 PM
Hey ... someone stole my bike.... J/K, GREAT story - HUGE HUGE thumbs up to Hahn!!!!!
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niuhi
Expert Class
Posts: 374
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posted August 03, 2004 08:10 PM
Right on! There was that movie about a kid who starts a trend based on the random acts of kindness. Great movie, and ever since watching that I try and do a little whenever I see someone that can truly use the help.
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Hawaii no ka 'oi
Les
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