Dealer’s letter to soldier goes viral

A photo of a letter sent to a customer from Reiman’s Harley-Davidson in Kewanee, Ill., has gone viral after it was shared on Facebook.

The letter, dated May 22, 2014, was sent to customers Christopher and Jamie Walters.

It reads:

Enclosed you will find the check you mailed to us regarding the account of Christopher. It is the policy of Reiman’s Harley-Davidson to waive storage fees for our active duty service members who are deployed. It is our honor to keep your bike safe and secure while you provide us with our freedoms. We hope you return to us safe and sound. Until that time, we will store your bike at no charge to you. This is our way of saying “Thank You” for your service to our country.

The letter is signed by dealer principal C. Dennis Packee.

A photo of the letter was first shared on June 8 by a Mike Koroly, who wrote “Support this dealership…… Make this go viral.” And viral it has gone. As of Wednesday afternoon, the post had been shared by 215,252 people.

In response, Reiman’s posted this message on its Facebook page Tuesday:

We would like to start off by saying thank you to all of the people who have called and sent us messages about the letter we sent back to the Walters Family. My father Dennis doesn’t really understand how Facebook works so he has asked me to put this out there for him. “I am very greatful and humble for all of the messages and phone calls I have received, but the real thanks need to be given to our Men and Women in the Military, not me. All I did was give up a little space in my building for a person who gave up a whole lot more than I could ever imagine. The least we could do is honor him by taking care of his bike while he provides us with our Freedoms. I would like to say thank you to all of those who have called and messaged me, I am trying to respond to all of you as best as I can. But as I said, thank the Men and Women who have served and currently serving. They are the ones who deserve the honor. Not me. Thank you all again and God Bless.”