National Guard hauls soldier’s ‘Harley’ to Kane

July 1, 2012

Photo by Ted Lutz - Sue and Tom VanGiesen of 137 Lincoln St., Kane, pose with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle delivered Friday to their residence by members of a Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit in Cambridge Springs near Erie.

It was a bittersweet road trip for six members of the field maintenance shop at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard base in Cambridge Springs near Erie.
Traveling in two large National Guard work trucks, the group came to Kane on Friday to deliver a 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the Tom and Sue VanGiesen residence at 137 Lincoln St.
The “Harley” was the pride and joy of Staff Sgt. Ken VanGiesen, a Kane native who was killed last July while serving in Afghanistan with the National Guard.
Prior to this deployment, VanGiesen had worked at the field maintenance shop for about four years. The shop is part of a $19.5-million National Guard center that opened in 2007.
In addition to the shop, the center includes a “readiness” facility that is home to more than 400 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry.