Page 29 - Abraham Lincoln Hearse Narrative

FIFTH PROJECT UPDATE - FEBRUARY, 2015 – ERIC HOLLENBECK
project. We spent an extra day in Oceanside where
we met with Lieutenant Colonel Ken Pipes who
served during the siege in Khe Sanh, Vietnam in
1968 (check out www.bravotheproject.com to learn
more about this historic battle). Ken escorted us to
Camp Pendleton so that the Marines could see what
their brothers and sisters in arms had built. We
were also able to see the Operation Iraqi Freedom
& Operation Enduring Freedom monuments for
veterans who lost their lives in Iraq & Afghanistan.
The Veteran crew in Oceanside: Eric The San Diego newspaper, Union Tribune,
Hollenbeck, 101st Airborne; Jenny and did a story on the build, as did Building Products
Jarrod Stewart, Roger’s son and daughter magazine.
-in-law, Navy; Roger Stewart, Army; Lt. After re-cocooning the hearse, it was an all
Col. Ken Pipes, retired Marine; and Thomas
R. Jones, retired Navy/Marines.
day trip across the deserts of Arizona where I saw
my first wild cactus, arriving in Tombstone about
nine that night.
Viviana and I spent 3 days with Jack Feather
and crew at Tombstone Hearse & Trike Co., taking
all the gold and silver parts off and the windows
out and preparing for the undercarriage to be built
and the coach painted. One month later I was flown

A screen capture of the fantastic story David
Koenig put together about our project.

The cocooned hearse facing the long drive
across Arizona to Tombstone.

back to Tombstone for the final week to re-install
all the decorative work before the completed hearse
was transported to Springfield, Illinois.
To be continued…The Blue Ox in Springfield Jack Feather of Tombstone Hearse & Trike

Co., removing the decorative castings from the
hearse.

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