Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing one year ago as we watched terrorists launch an attack on the American way of life. In an effort to cripple our great country they attacked our financial institutions, our defense headquarters, and, in all likelihood, attempted to destroy the home of the most powerful and influential politician on the planet. They tried to change us by breaking our spirit, but their efforts backfired. Yes, the world is different now, but some have vowed to use this tragedy to learn and grow, to become better “Americans” and, hopefully, help others better themselves as well.
Donnie and Diana Harper are perfect examples of people who vowed not only to never forget these events, but also to show the world that we (as Americans) will endure. That is why they named their 9-11 memorial truck “Enduring Freedom” and had murals, depicting scenes from that day, painted on the top of their hood and side of their sleeper.
They also wanted to show the general public that truckers care. They care for the ones who were lost and they care for the ones who continue to put themselves in harms way to protect the rest of us. The mural on the hood shows the Statue of Liberty, standing tall between the Trade Center Towers, with a
waving American flag as a backdrop. Portraits of President George W. Bush and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani flank the lower corners of the mural, along with a painted-on plaque that says God Bless America. Each side of the sleeper has a profile of an eagle with a tear in its eye - within the teardrop is an image of the towers burning. They also have a painted fifth wheel cover that features a firefighter walking away, holding a rolled up flag over his shoulder, with a waving flag backdrop. Looking at these images conjured up deep emotions about what we remembered from that fateful day last September.
I don’t remember much from that day, but I can recall the feeling of overall disbelief at what I was watching on the television. I, as well as most everybody else, probably said, “I can’t believe it!” over a hundred times that day. But believe it or not, it happened. At the most recent count I could find, some 3,056 people perished as the result of the multiple terrorist attacks on that day - 2,823 in New York City, 189 at The Pentagon and 44 on-board a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania (most likely en route to the White House). Quick-thinking passengers on United Flight 93 somehow “downed” the plane before it could reach its intended target.
Where there was once two 110-story tall towers in the heart of Lower Manhattan, there is now a 70-foot deep crater. It took over 100,000 truckloads and nine months to clear the site of the 1.8 million tons of debris. The question now is what to do with the 16-acre site. Most plans submitted to the public have been shot down or ridiculed. Most likely, new skyscrapers will be built on the site but the
2-acre “footprint” of the towers that fell will be reserved for some type of memorial.
One of the good things to come out of all this is American’s new-found devotion for their public servants. When the towers collapsed, they took 343 members of the New York Fire Department, 37 Port Authority police, and 23 NYPD officers with them. Our cover this month is 10-4’s tribute to the fallen firefighters - we could think of no better way to present this rig to our readers than to flank it with two of our finest from Los Angeles City Fire Station 61, Vince Jenkins and Martin Marquez.
As many of you might remember, Vince, who fights fires two weeks of the month and then goes trucking the other two, was featured on our cover in June of 2001. He is a great friend to us at 10-4 and we’re proud to be
associated with him. He and fellow fireman Martin Marquez were kind enough to give up one of their Sundays, drive to a firehouse in the City of Industry, put on their gear and help us take a great photo for our cover. We also took this opportunity to get their points of view as to how things have changed.
Vince believes a lot was learned from the tragedies of 9-11. Nothing like this had ever happened, and because of that fact, many hard lessons were taught that day. Lessons about safety for themselves and their equipment. They learned what to do and what not to do. Firefighters are now being training to handle weapons of mass destruction, toxic chemicals and other devices used by terrorists.
Now, one year later, Vince and Martin both agree that the level of appreciation they get from the general public has skyrocketed. “People used to just appreciate us when we helped them. Now, they simply appreciate the fact that we do what we do and they tell us that much more often,” said Vince. Obviously, the entire “brotherhood” of firefighters are
affected when so many are lost at one single call. Firefighters, like the Marines, are the first in and the last out. They are the backbone of our country’s body of “public servants” and we should make sure that they know we care about them. Thank the next firefighter you see for putting his or her life on the line for you.
The photo shoot was done the day after the Rotella SuperRigs competition in Ontario ended, at a brand new fire house in the City of Industry. Los Angeles County Fire Station 118 was nice enough to let us block their driveway with Donnie & Diana’s truck for most of the morning. But a neat thing happened while we were there shooting the pictures. A widow from New York and her small children showed up, via helicopter, to tour the fire house.
Stacey Roy, widow of fallen NYPD officer Timothy Roy, and her three children, Caitlyn, Brittney and Tim Jr., were in California as part of a program that sends victim’s widows and their family members on a free vacation. The program is not funded by the fire department or any “official” organization - fellow firefighters and police give up sick days, donate their own time and money, and help the families acquire free airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars.
Some firefighters even open up their homes and let visiting families stay with them. It’s all part of the brotherhood previously mentioned. These folks really stick together.
Stacey, as well as ourselves, couldn’t believe the fact that she was here visiting this particular firehouse and we just happened to be there shooting a 9-11 commemorative cover of a beautiful 9-11 memorial truck. That’s just too many coincidences to be a coincidence. Many tears were shed as stories were shared between Stacey and the Harpers. Although they had never met before, they immediately felt a connection with one another.
There is a firefighter connection with the Harpers also. In Donnie’s younger days, he served as a volunteer firefighter. Having
answered some harrowing calls of his own, he can say, with utmost certainty, it’s not
always a fun or glorious job. Diana can still vividly remember that feeling of seeing her
husband go out the door, to answer a call,
wondering if he would make it home okay.
Donnie & Diana Harper, owner operators who own a home in Somerset, Kentucky (but more or less live in their truck), have been
married for 34 years. Donnie still remembers the night they met. “She wouldn’t give me the time of day - she even turned her back on me as I rode wheelies on my motorcycle through the parking lot, trying to impress her,” said Donnie. She obviously turned around at some point. After all, wheelies on a motorcycle are pretty impressive.
After getting married, the Harpers tried many different ways of making money. At one point, Donnie was a fishing guide on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. They also owned and operated a few hair salons. But Donnie really wanted to go trucking. So he went out and bought an old GMC Brigadier and a small trailer and began hauling cars for a local junk yard. After going through a few other trucking jobs, Donnie & Diana settled in with Reliable Carriers and have now been hauling for them for almost ten years.
Donnie turned the folks at Reliable down the first time they offered him a job - he had a red truck at the time and didn’t want to paint it orange (the color of the Reliable fleet). But now both he and Diana love the color. “It’s easy to find the truck in a crowded parking lot,” said Diana with a smile. Reliable currently has around 300 trucks, mostly owner operators, and hauls specialty vehicles in all 48 states and Canada. Donnie & Diana, along with their two little dogs named Petie and Jessie, pull a drop-deck and specialize in big vehicles - like buses, big trucks, military vehicles and other over-sized pieces of equipment. They started running the incredible 2002 Pete 379 featured on this month’s cover in November of 2001.
The Harpers took delivery of their new truck in July of 2001 and immediately sent it to Indiana Custom Trucks (ICT) to be fitted with a custom, 166” sleeper featuring full side skirts which completely cover the tanks and the
usually-exposed frame rails. Diana designed the floor plan and did the decorating. This sleeper is gorgeous inside (just check out the photo above). It has a full bathroom, a full kitchen, a large entertainment center, a leather sofa, tile floor, beautiful solid wood cabinets, in-motion satellite television, a satellite radio system, and all the other bells and whistles you could possibly think of.
After the sleeper was finished, Donnie went to work on the exterior of the rig. The truck, which has a 340-inch wheelbase, has 309 LED lights - many with clear lenses. WTI fiberglass full fenders were fitted over the
drivers and a Renegade visor was added, as well as steps by Rig Skirts and 8” stacks. Donnie had 7 holes cut on each side of the hood and had chrome “sleeper vents” installed. Yes, they do help vent some hot air out of the engine compartment, but they mostly just look cool. The blinkers were shaved from the ends of the headlights and old-style 359 blinkers were added to the top of the front fenders. Numerous pieces of chrome and stainless surround every part of this truck.
Now it was time for the graphics. The Harpers had decided on a “big cat” theme for the truck - tigers, leopards, jaguars, etc. in
addition to an extreme flame design. They sent the truck to painter/artist James Shively and let him go to work. Colors used include Omaha Orange (the truck’s main color) with Candy Yellow, Candy Red and Chromallusion flames. The cat murals are subtle and blended in with the graphics, but they are there.
While the truck was at Jim’s place being painted, the 9-11 attacks occurred. Donnie & Diana both wanted to do something special on their rig to commemorate the events, so they had James add the extra murals. The truck, which was debuted in a Thanksgiving parade in Covington, Ohio, receives cheers, tears and praises wherever it goes.
It has also done very well at the truck shows, winning many top honors at events in Louisville and Boston, not to mention a spot on the 2003 Rotella SuperRigs calendar. They haven’t won a Best of Show yet, but they
always do very well in the Sleeper, Paint & Graphics and People’s Choice classes.
The Harpers are very proud but humble people. The beauty and excitement of their rig seems to be bitter-sweet. The murals are stunning, but they are constant reminders of the horrific events of 9-11. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. Donnie & Diana wanted to show the world that they cared, but what they really did was help to ensure that we, as Americans, never forget what happened on that day.
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