Memorial Day & Dust On The Tracks - May 28

Monday, May 28

Memorial Day, the day of honouring the memory of soldiers, firefighters and police officers who lost their life while on duty. Craig, his father-in-law Peter and Danish couple P.K. & wife Rie visiting will all drive their army green vehicles in the parade in St. Charles. Craig’s 4WD Dodge in a barn next to his house starts up, shakes, rattles and finally rolls out on the gravel road. Cruise speed is 45 mph, conversation is strained because of the noise, and he uses hand signals when turning.

Former career officers P.K. and Peter Orum and the latter's Jeep.

We meet up with Peter in his Willy’s Jeep and P.K. driving a Canadian-built, 4WD, RHD, stub-nosed Fordson truck, which once was used by Danish forces. Peter and P.K. were in the engineer troops way back when, the former also being involved with explosives disposal – which included things like car bombs. Peter says I could’ve borrowed his military Nimbus sidecar bike with the machine gun, and yeah, it could’ve been fun. Then again, this old peacenik in a military-nationalist event like this? USA may be my second homeland, but still…

Jon Voight look-a-like Vietnam Vet on the truckbed, marching boy scouts behind us. The old Korea vet sat opposite him, and got a lot of applause.

Crossing the bridge, art deco building in background.

Eventually the parade starts, a few participating parties having bailed out because of the heat. In 1^st gears we follow a marching band, people along the road cheers and clap their hands when they see the Korean War vet on the Dodge’s truckbed. I wave a bit too, imitating the style of Danish queen Margaret II, and notice a guy in a loud tie-dye t-shirt with a large peace sign – a bit out of character here – waving back. Only 15 minutes later the parade run ends, and everybody converges at the park near the river.

Only three to stand up when they call for 'the greatest generation' to do so – applause – and then all stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer ("...go forward in the battles yet to come...amen..."). The mayor gives a speech, tough-talking in words & style about looking soldiers right into the eyes, followed by a more mellow speaker who talks about the two lives fallen soldiers gave - the one they had and the one they never got to have - and mentions suicide prevention hotlines for veterans (by now more Vietnam vets have died from killing themselves, than died in actual combat). Soon after that it is over.

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Craig, daughter Lydia and I drive to the plant nursery, where Peter keeps his collection of vehicles. An interesting little collection it is: Three trucks, the Jeep and the Nimbus, a White halftrack and a Bren carrier. The latter is a small, British built belted supply vehicle steered by two brake levers, one for each track. Craig start up the White, and after a tour around Peter’s private proving grounds, which includes two military bridges, he lets me have the wheel.

9-year old Lydia: "It pretty high up here, dude"....

It’s louder than the Dodge, and not difficult at all to drive around, lack of powersteering and powerbrakes notwithstanding. But the Bren carrier is the really entertaining one; it is way, way louder than the halftrack, reminding me of a similar 24 litre V12 I once sat right in front of. It is its 90 bhp flathead V8, comfortable suspension and the aforementioned steering that makes it special. Craig does some big-grin donuts, I try a few powerslides, stall it in one of the streams and surprise myself, during my 20-minute debut in the terrain and amongst the greenhouses, by not running over anything expensive or irreplaceable.

Surprisingly loud, surprisingly easy to drive, and surprisingly fun.

Statue at the river, supposedly honouring the tribe that once lived here. Christa isn't particularly impressed with the inscription, finding it somewhat romantized.

Former railway lines have been replaced with paths and new bridges now used by joggers and bicyclists.