American Chopper star Paul Teutul Sr. spent his Memorial Day with veterans.
The Discovery Channel reality TV star and founder of Orange County Choppers took to Instagram on Monday to share with fans how he spent his Memorial Day, revealing that he had traveled to East Aurora, New York, on Monday to mark the occasion among veterans.
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“Today is a day of reflection for sure,” Teutul captioned the post. “I am grateful to all of our military who give us our freedom. All gave some but some gave all.
“We brought the Vietnam wall bike to western NY for Memorial Day,” he continued. “The man sitting on this bike is the man pictured on the mural of the bike. His reaction was priceless. God bless all of our military. Look closely at the mural. It was an incredible day of reflection.”
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The custom Vietnam Wall bike was built by Teutul to be showcased in a fundraising campaign for a new Western New York veterans’ memorial to be built at Knox Farms State Park, according to Spectrum News.
The Orange County Chopper original took a total of five weeks to complete and features murals that have ties to the area, including the mural of a veteran on the gas tank.
“The one gentleman who they just happened to use that photo on the gas tank saw his picture when they were talking about it,” Rep. Chris Collins told the outlet of the occasion. “It was on the TV show. He was here today. And another lady was here, I believe it was her father killed, was also part of the mural on so this was just a very special day.”
“What are the chances putting five murals on there and two people watch the show and they’re on there,” added.
The American Chopper star, who has made a name for himself by creating custom bikes, had teased the project on his Instagram account just days before the bike’s debut at the Monday event.
“Excited about this one, celebrating the hundred year anniversary of the Veterans Day,” he had wrote. “Gas tank is going to be killer.”
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WKBW Buffalo reports that the bike was expected to auction between $150,000 and $200,000, with the cost of the wall, which will be similar to the one in Washington, D.C., estimated to be $500,000.
Teutul said that his part in getting in built “means a lot.”
