Veteran’s bike dedicated to fallen soldiers
U.S.M.C. veteran John Solakakis of Vienna with his motorcycle...by R. Michael Semple
U.S.M.C. veteran John Solakakis of Vienna...by R. Michael Semple
U.S.M.C. veteran John Solakakis of Vienna with his motorcycle...by R. Michael Semple
U.S.M.C. veteran John Solakakis of Vienna...by R. Michael Semple
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Editor's note: This is part of a series published every Monday between Memorial Day and Veterans Day honoring local veterans.
VIENNA -- Shortly after graduating from Sharon High School in 1965, John Solakakis received his draft notice for the Vietnam War, prompting him to join the Marine Corps Reserves.
He spent 12 weeks doing basic training at Parris Island before going to advance combat training at Camp Lejeune.
"It was rough," Solakakis said. "Being in the Marine Corps is pretty strict and they had tough training that you have to go through."
While at Parris Island, Solakakis and a friend got separated from the reserves and ended up with the combat engineers.
"I went through a simulated POW (prisoner of war) camp for 72 hours," Solakakis said.
During the simulated camp, Solakakis had his hands duct-taped behind his back and was interrogated for 20 minutes. Afterward, a burlap sack was placed over his head, and he was put in a box where soldiers dressed as Vietnamese would beat the sides of the box with rocks and place other guys on top of him.
They went through this training so they would know what to do if they were sent overseas and got captured. During the training, Solakakis and several others were hung upside down and dipped into a 55-gallon drum of water to try and get them to talk.
Two soldiers broke, but Solakakis and his friend never did.
Solakakis spent six years in the Marine Corps Reserve before going back home.
After the war, Solakakis worked for 28-and-a-half years at Sharon Steel. When it shut down, he worked at Delphi for 13 years.
In 2008, Solakakis got a 2001 Electra Glide Harley Classic and started going to motorcycle shows.
"I'd go to bike functions and I'd get on the wrong bike. I had a POW sticker here and I would notice it and say this is the wrong bike," Solakakis said.
After that happened a couple of times, he got the idea to make his bike a tribute to those who have lost their lives in various wars.
"Something in my brain lit up, I have to do something to honor these people who gave their all. That's why I did it," Solakakis said.
That's when he decided to get the faces of his friends and fallen soldiers on saddle bags that go onto his bike.
"This is the best I could do," Solakakis said. "A couple of them were young fellas that came to my mother's pizza kitchen when we were kids, and they were kids too."
Solakakis said one of the reasons he puts people's portraits on his bike's saddle bags is because he feels like he didn't do enough in the war, and this is his way of honoring those who gave everything.
One of the good things that came out of doing this is bringing people together with their loved ones, Solakakis said.
During the time that The Wall That Heals was in Warren, Solakakis met a woman whose brother was on the bike.
Once the picture of the bike was uploaded onto the internet, the woman was able to find her nephew who she hadn't seen in a while, Solakakis said.
"Every time I put portraits on my bike, I seem to meet more people," Solakakis said. "And it gets out, word gets out."