A Vietnam Veteran is Giving Away his 1966 Corvette to Another Veteran in Honor of ‘Private Malone’

Country singer David Ball’s 2001 hit “Riding with Private Malone” is sure to bring a tear to your eye no matter how many times you hear it.

His heartfelt salute to a Vietnam veteran who didn’t make it home from the war is taking on new relevance these days, and by the end of this month, another deserving soldier will be climbing behind the wheel of a 1966 Corvette, just like the one mentioned in the song.

A 78-year-old Vietnam veteran who has owned such a ’66 Sting Ray for the past 46 years has decided to give his car away through a contest co-sponsored with the country singer.

“Major Jim,” who asked that his last name not be published, says he had thought about giving the car away to a fellow soldier for years. Then when a friend told him about Ball’s song, written by Thom Shepherd and Wood Newton, Jim was reminded immediately of his own Corvette experiences and contacted Ball’s team who helped him organize a contest to give his car away to another veteran.

The contest winner will become the fourth veteran to own Jim’s Corvette, following in the footsteps of the first three soldier owners, including Jim.

Nominations are open through August 15, with details available at davidball.com.

Submissions should include the person’s rank, dates, and locations of military service, and a statement on why they deserve to win. Jim and his wife, along with Ball and his team, will help pick a winner shortly afterwards, and the car is slated to be awarded during an August 31 ceremony in the Music City.

“Riding with Private Malone” tells the emotional story of a man who spots a newspaper ad for an “Old Chevy,” only to discover that it’s a 1966 Corvette that has been stored under a dust-covered Army tarp for the past 30 years. After buying the car for $1,000, the new owner finds a yellowed note in the glove box that reads:

He said, my name is Private Andrew Malone
And if you’re reading this, then I didn’t make it home
But for every dream that’s shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you
And though you may take her and make her your own
You’ll always be riding with Private Malone.

The words to the song really hit home for Major Jim, who says Private Malone is a stand-in for his own best friend who lost his life in Vietnam.

“Riding with Private Malone was kind of like me riding with Steve,” Jim says.

Jim says he had promised Steve’s wife that he would bring her husband home if the unthinkable ever happened, a mission he had to fulfill in 1970 when he had to transport his friend’s body home to the States. “The whole war was a fog for me,” Jim says now.

In those days, the unpopularity of the war sometimes meant veterans were the target of backlash in America, and Jim recalls that a flight attendant on the ride home with Steve’s body told him that meals weren’t allotted for military personnel, not even if he was flying as an escort for the military. Later, during his 22 years as an American Airlines pilot, Jim always made sure military personnel on his flights, alive or dead, were treated with the utmost respect.

Jim found his own ’66 Corvette years after returning from Vietnam when a fellow Army helicopter pilot who served there needed money during a divorce and traded Jim the Sting Ray for $3,800 and a Vega station wagon.

Jim mostly enjoys leisurely cruises in the sports car these days, but there was a time when he put the powerful 327 engine to good use – recalling the day he hit 120 mph only to be nervously pulled over by two police cars that didn’t ticket him but just wanted to see the car!

Over the years, he’s also driven the Corvette in weddings and parades and has even been known to let anyone who wants to drive the car climb behind the wheel, just as long as they know how to drive a manual.

“I just enjoy watching people smile and enjoy the car as much as we do,” he says.

Jim will be heading to Nashville to see his beloved Sting Ray go to another veteran’s home in a giveaway event slated for August 31.

Source:
publicopiniononline.com

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[VIDEO] New Jersey Corvette Club Cooks Lunch and Gives Corvette Rides to Veterans
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