At a time when the US President and other US politicians tend to apologize for their country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some former US personnel handled negative comments about the United States.

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when Charles DeGaule, the French President, decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include those who are buried here?

DeGaule did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop .
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When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if US plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
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There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.
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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks when a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.

He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, 'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

............ AND THE FOLLOWING STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE ..........

Robert Whiting, an elderly US gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to."

You could have heard a pin drop.

Amen, couldn't have been said any better. God Bless America!

Oh, I read the title of this thread wrong...

I thought it said, "You could have heard a pan drop."

I figured, yikes, if you can't hear a panhead drop off of a truck, just how deaf are you?

And I would be the first on the scene to make sure that the little pan head was taken out of the street and right to my garage for safe keeping and recuperation. That little pan would never have to worry about falling out of a truck again!

LOL. Now if the pan in question was a '65, I'd fight you for the carcass...

How about this

I'd like a little more chrome, and handlebars from "reality," but if that's a '65 I'd be all over it.

I happen to be one of those guys who (secretly) feel that the '65 was the best--and last--real Harley that MoCo ever built. Sure some minor stuff, like electronics and single leading shoe front brakes, could be easily updated, but that sound, the rattle and clatter of the engine and the iconic look make it a 'real Harley.'

I miss that bike.

This was my labor of love. My rendition of what I thought a cool harley was suppose to look like. I built this, what I considered a beauty. I never did get to the springer and in fact missed the opportunity to do so....long story. I kept it for 25 + years having sold her in 2008..sold her to a good friend of mine in Arizon. Below is picture of Woody when he finally got the bike:



This is a 1963 FL. Originally was on a pre electric swing arm. Converted drum breaks to PM breaks on the back. No brakes on the front. She was a foot clutch hand shift and only throttle on the handle bars.

Wow, a real bike, back when men were men and sheep backed out of the room.

The reason I like the '65 was not just because it was a pan. I think it was not only the 'last, best' panhead, but also a precursor of things to come. Kind of like the bikers themselves circa the mid to late 1960s. The 'golden age,' with firm ties to the past and a sneak peek at things to come.

I also have a soft spot for dying dinosaurs. Give me a story of redemption and sacrifice, like Davy Crockett as the last man standing, and I believe it carries all of the good things I think about man and society.

Same things with bikes or old muscle cars. Yeah, the final hurrah. But most times those items reflect not only the times and the innovations, but the guys who created them.

When I muse about such things, I imagine owning a '65 pan tricked out like Betty. A simple custom, built for me not the masses, and all of the good things but constructed with an eye to the past.

I got tired of paying the price to look cool. Antiquated technology is a biotch. Everything has to be spot on and the proper sequence involved for her to kick over. And it was too expensive a bike to just have to have. I got a good price for her and combined with selling my 1996 Buell S2T enabled me to buy 2 used low miliage Ultra's for the price of one. Woody loves and rides the shit out of her and I got a major upgrade in technology for the kind of riding I was hankering to do. Could you see me and Karen riding to San Diego and back on the Pan? Me neither,lol. By the way the 1963 was the first year for over head oiling lines.