SIMC: Riding With Private Malone

I planned on focusing this weeks Sunday In My City on the 23rd annual Hot Summer Nights in Downtown Sioux Falls. Those plans changed when I was going through the photos and saw a very special Corvette that had captured my attention earlier this year at Automania and then again at Hot Summer Nights.

  

The Corvette is named "Riding with Private Malone II" and is a memorial tribute to fallen service members. This photo above was taken at Hot Summer Nights and the next two were taken at Automania.

When I saw the car at Automaina the owner was not present and the hood of the car captured all my attention so I didn't even notice the back.

When I saw it at Hot summer nights I turned my attention to the rest of the car, and boy I am glad I did.

This time the owner was there and he had the back of the car open as well.

He asked me if I knew the story about Private Malone. I told him I did not but would love to hear it. So he told me the story of a young Private who had bought a '66 Corvette before going off to Vietnam. The young man did not return from the war and his car sat under a cover in his parents barn for many years. Eventually the mother sold the car and the new owner found a note in the glove box that read "If you are reading this then I didn't make it home". The note he said went on to tell the new owner that although the car was now his, he would be riding with Private Malone. 

He pointed to the back and said he even got Private Malone's uniform. Now I can't honestly say if he presented the story as a factual event or if I was just so moved by the vehicle and the story that I misinterpreted it as a factual story. It was not until I prepared to write this blog post that I did a bit of research, because I wondered if there was more information on Private Malone. I learned it was a fictional story in a song. Albeit, one that has the definite ring of possibility.

  If you haven't heard the song here it is.
It is a beautiful and very moving song.

 This is my contribution to Unknown Mami's Sunday In My City blog hop. 

I hope you have enjoyed it. If you want to see more Corvettes from the Hot Summer Nights just click here.

Have a great week!