At 2WT we get lots of mail from the military men and women who are away from home, sometimes thousands of miles from loved ones and their motorcycles.

The U.S. Military has nearly 1.5 million people on active duty in the Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and Air Force, many of whom can't wait to return, fire their bikes back to life and feel the freedom of two wheels once again.

Here is our acknowledgment to all men and women who serve their country.

WARRIOR'S DELIGHT

Army E-8 Darryl Wright retires in July after 25 years of service. As a retirement gift, his wife allowed him to customize his 2007 Hayabusa using the movie 300 as his theme.

"I like a lot of ancient-themed movies," Wright explains, "and that one just really caught my eye. It was a great movie. I can watch it over and over."

New York-based artist Steve Nunez was responsible for the custom paint and bodywork. PPM Cycle and Custom of Trinity, N.C., performed the modifications. The bike features Xtreme Machine Ripper wheels, Yana Shiki rear sets, a PPM clear stator cover, an RCC clear clutch cover, PPM chrome fairing screens, a Custom Dynamics Magical Wizard Light Kit, Tricky Air air ride suspension front and rear, Pro One Blade levers, custom gauges from SRP, an ANT Racing rearview camera and monitor, a Roaring Toyz megaphone exhaust, an HID headlight, custom grips, and Sixty61 custom bar ends.

Perhaps in honor of the movie, Wright had initially desired a 300 tire kit, but PPM talked him into an C&S 330 Wide Tire Kit with a single-sided swing arm.

Darryl Wright, modern warrior for 25 years

Wright had Drastik Plastix cut "Busas" and Kanji symbols into the hub, the fender, the solo seat, the rear section and undertail. At night the light kit accentuates the cutouts.

Wright, 43, is stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Is he ready to retire? "Yeah, I've been in here since high school, so I'm excited about doing something new. But it's been fun."

Not all fun, though. Wright says he got so bored stationed in Korea that he had his Busa shipped over to him for about a year and a half. This was back when it was plain stock. "Korea isn't the best riding place in the world," he says, "so it only got like a thousand miles on it."

Wright says he has spent more than $30,000 on his bike. He admits his wife may not know the full extent of his spend. "But she can't take it back now," he says, laughing. "Only thing she can do is make me sleep outside with the dogs."

HONORING A FALLEN SEAL

In August 2008, Josh Harris, a decorated member of an elite group of Navy SEALs, drowned while crossing a turbulent river during combat in Afghanistan. He was 36. When his coffin arrived in his home state of North Carolina, people lined the streets, waving flags.

"It brought our community together like nothing else I've ever seen," Steve Garwood says. He and his twin brother, Dave, played football with Harris in high school.

Dave owns Garwood Cycles in Lexington, N.C., and Steve acts as a consultant to the shop. When they heard of Harris' death, they were drafting plans for a bike in honor of military special ops. After getting permission from Harris' parents, they revised their plans to dedicate the bike to him.

"Special Ops" is a 2007 Hayabusa with a C&S 330 Wide Tire Kit with a swing arm 16 inches longer than stock. Ransom Machine made the foot pegs, kickstand and bezel, the last of which encases a silver Illumiglo gauge. The cycle has Pro One levers, a Vance & Hines Sidewinder exhaust and a seven-color light kit with a remote control. The frame and swing arm are Mystic Black. Most of the other components are chromed.

The design features black digital camouflage and scenes of special op missions. It was executed by Garwood Cycles, Neyon Paint and Body out of Trinity, N.C., and even friends of the Garwoods. "They all wanted to be a part of this," Steve says. "Everybody felt a passion about it." Everything was hand-painted (no stickers).

Harris likely would have appreciated the Garwoods' creation. He loved bikes and art. He rode a Harley-Davidson and, before joining the military, had been a prolific artist and scholar. His artwork was even displayed at the Lincoln Center in New York City, though he was known for being modest.

Says Steve: "He got along with everybody, always had a smile; but at the same time he was pretty much a badass."

GARWOOD'S FIRST TRIBUTE

"Special Ops" (see previous story) wasn't the first military-themed bike built by Garwood Cycles in Lexington, N.C. The shop unveiled "Military Tribute" during Daytona 2008 at the Rat's Hole Bike Show, in which it took first place.

Steve Garwood acts as a consultant to the shop, which is owned by his twin brother, Dave. "Garwood has been in business 15 years," Steve says, "and over probably the last five or six years the military has been good to us, so we built this bike to say thank you."

"Military Tribute" is a 2005 Hayabusa with a C&S 330 Wide Tire Kit with a swing arm kicked back 14 inches. It has RC Components Vega wheels, a white Illumiglo gauge, an underbelly dual exhaust system built by the shop, and Ransom Machine foot pegs, levers and bevel covers. The bike is fully chromed out: the triple tree, forks, hand grips, engine covers, levers, foot pegs, rotors, calipers.

The tan paintwork was done in-house and is highlighted by a light kit with remote control: blue in front, white in the middle and red in back. "We were going for a very patriotic theme, and it just worked out very nice," Steve says.

Shawn's Custom Seats built the saddle, incorporating a working compass.

Looking through the windshield from underneath is like looking through the cockpit of an Apache helicopter. The bike's lower has the outlines of Afghanistan and Iraq with a sniper's crosshairs on them.

"What's really cool about 'Military Tribute'," Steve says, "is that on its front it says 'Never Forget.' On the seat it says 'Freedom' for both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (the Afghanistan effort). And then on the back it's stamped 'United We Stand.' Those were the three statements we wanted to get across on the bike.

"It speaks very highly of David's character that he took the time and effort, and money, to build not only one bike, but two to say thank you."

BACK FROM IRAQ, READY TO RIDE

LOUIS GRASSE, owner of H2o Cycles in Jacksonville, Fla., had an uncle who was one of the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11. So Grasse's appreciation for our men and women overseas is strong. For active personnel, he offers a discount on all merchandise. Bike builds for soldiers are common at his shop. We profile two here.

Tremayne Gilchrist, a 29-year-old flight operations specialist in the Army, is stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. He's been in the military for nearly a decade and recently served a 15-month stretch in Iraq. While he was there, H2o Cycles tricked out his 2007 GSX-R1000 with a new paint job (executed by artist Paul Wong), matching RC Components Widow wheels, and matching bolt-ons made by Roaring Toyz.

Gilchrist came home in August 2008, rode the bike for a few months, then brought it back to have it further laced up with lighting effects, a Tricked Out Custom Cycles clear clutch cover and a 240 RC Wide Tire Kit with a clean, inline braking system.

Next up is a 2002 Hayabusa that H2o Cycles built for Army First Sergeant Rico Hayes, a soldier since 1990.

There's an interesting story behind the bike. Rico's brother Laquan had taught him to ride about 14 years ago. "He was into the custom work, and I followed," Rico says. "Regardless of wherever the Army may have taken me, my brother, cousins and I always made it a point to meet up at Myrtle Beach."

In February 2002, Laquan was present when Rico was promoted to sergeant first class. That same day Laquan bought the '02 Busa for $10,000 cash. He had planned to customize it, but he passed away after a brief illness in September of that year.

"After his death, I sold my custom GSXR-750 and did what I know he would have done to the bike in memory of him," Rico says. "The bike has been a work in progress for over the last six years."

During Rico's last tour in Iraq, he brought it to H2o Cycles to have a 330 single-sided arm installed along with some more lighting, some updated chrome goodies and a fresh set of Xtreme Machine wheels. Shop owner Louis Grasse describes the bike: "Very old-school low-rider truck look, but a clean, updated Busa nonetheless. The arm is from All Things Chrome and is an absolute piece of jewelry."

The bike's Tennessee license plate reads 4MYBRO.