[VIDEO] Hennessey Performance Honors Heroes and Horsepower in New Video Series

As we gather around the barbecue grill and at the pool over this holiday weekend, let’s not forget the men and women who are the real reasons behind Memorial Day. Sgt. Lew Barnes, United States Marine Corps, surely hasn’t forgotten.

If you don’t get choked up when you watch a new video series released today by Hennessey Performance called Heroes and Horsepower, then we have to wonder if you’re human.

Sgt. Barnes served his country as a teenager in 1968 and 1969 and knows first-hand the ultimate price many of his comrades paid to keep our nation free. If you see a veteran this weekend, be sure to thank him or her for their service!

He decided to honor 33 Marines from his squadron (and one from the 2nd Battalion in 3rd Marines) who were killed in action in Vietnam with a rolling memorial.

And not just any rolling memorial, but a 1000 horsepower C7 Corvette Z06 done by Hennessey.

But the real purpose behind this Corvette isn’t to blow out the competition at the drag strip or race track – it’s to serve as a memorial of all the Marines who have given their lives for our country, and specifically the 34 that are listed on the back hatch of this Z06.

The artist responsible for the beautiful artwork on this Corvette was told that it had to be all about the Marine Corps, it had to be very dignified, and it had to be about my guys on the back, Sgt. Barnes says in the video.

“The most significant part of this vehicle is on the back hatch,” Sgt. Barnes says. “The purpose for this whole project was to bring attention to the 34 Marines that are on the back and obviously the price that they paid fighting for somebody else’s freedom but obviously for the American ideals.”

Sgt. Barnes was one of the fortunate ones who made it out of Vietnam alive, but that doesn’t mean the tragedies he saw over there haven’t shaped the rest of his life.

For the first 10 years after returning from war, he stayed busy with his wife and two kids and going to school at night. But in his 30s, he began to focus a lot on what went on in Vietnam, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, several of his fellow Marines formed the HMM 362 Ugly Angel Memorial Foundation where they could get together as a group and memorialize the guys who didn’t come back home.

When he bought the Z06 (his first Chevy, by the way), people told him he was living his second childhood. “No, my first one, I was killing people – I was 17 and 18 years old. That was my childhood,” he corrected them. “So I was gonna have fun (with this car). The more I pondered that concept, I said, wouldn’t it be neat to ride around with my guys?”

And so this beautiful and emotion-laden Corvette was born.

“It’s been an honor to have your car in the shop,” says company president John Hennessey. “You probably don’t regard yourself as a hero – the real heroes are the guys on the back window. But in my humble opinion, I feel like anybody that puts on the uniform and goes to serve and protect other people, including being shot at, you’re a hero in my book. But I totally get it – the guys on the back window…”

“They paid the price,” Sgt. Barnes says.

“They paid the ultimate price,” Hennessey says. “And I think it’s just incredible that you’ve done this. We’re honored to be a part of this, and I hope that we can help tell this story and I’m guessing that one of your goals is to ultimately for those guys you served with, that they’re still remembered and appreciated.”

The Corvette isn’t the only memorial Sgt. Barnes has done for his fallen comrades. He says he has built a memorial at his house in their honor and can feel their presence many times when he visits.

“We were a team,” he says. “We would die for each other, and a lot of them did. You just can’t forget those guys, and you try to live your life so that you can feel ‘em around you.”

Hennessey says his company has built probably 10,000 vehicles over the last 27 years, including some record-breakers and really fast cars.

“I don’t know that we’ve ever worked on a car that’s more significant than your car,” he tells Sgt. Barnes. “We modify cars for a living and that’s really cool, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had a client say – they say I love my car, it’s fast, it’s fun – but nobody ever says a car changed their life. Today, we all have.”

If you want to get the true meaning of Memorial Day, take a few minutes to watch this video. Invite your family and friends to do so, too. There won’t be a dry eye in the house, we guarantee you.

“We are honored and excited to be able to use cool cars and horsepower to honor our veterans and first responders,” Hennessey said. “When Lew’s Corvette first arrived at our facility for our HPE1000 upgrade, we were all amazed with how he had transformed a car into a rolling memorial to his fellow Marines. We knew that Lew was the right Hero and his Corvette had the right Horsepower to launch our Heroes and Horsepower video series. We wanted to help remember and honor those who have served our country, especially the Heroes who gave their lives.”

Three more episodes of Heroes and Horsepower are planned through the end of 2018 with season 2 airing in 2019. Currently, the video series can be seen on YouTube and it is being presented by Shell and powered by Pennzoil.

“We thank all men and women who put on a uniform and who go to work risking their lives in order to save others and keep our nation free. We are so grateful to our nation’s Heroes and wanted to do something to thank them, especially with Memorial Day coming up,” said Hennessey. “If you know a Hero who has a passion for horsepower and think we should help tell their story, please let us know by visiting the Heroes and Horsepower Facebook page.”

Source:
Hennessey Performance via thespeedjournal.com

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