Xxtreme
03-03-2006, 02:49 PM
I saw this article this morning in our newspaper, ocregister.com. Incredible tribute. Cheers to all the men and women that serve and protect our great country and way of life and thank you for sacrifices that you make on our behalf.
Friday, March 3, 2006
A rolling memorial
Mother of a fallen Marine turns her Hummer into a tribute to him and his comrades.
By MICHAEL CORONADO
The Orange County Register
GRIEVING MOM: Karla Comfort wipes away a tear as she stands next to her hand-painted Hummer that she drove Thursday to Camp Pendleton.
YGNACIO NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marines remembered
• Lance Cpl. John Holmason, 20
• Lance Cpl. Robert Martinez, 20
• Staff Sgt. Daniel Clay, 27
• Lance Cpl. David Huhn, 24
• Lance Cpl. Adam Kaiser, 19
• Cpl. Anthony McElveen, 20
• Lance Cpl. Scott Modeen, 24
• Lance Cpl. Andrew Patten, 19
• Sgt. Andy Stevens, 29
• Lance Cpl. Craig Watson, 21
CAMP PENDLETON – The images on the black Hummer are a rolling tribute to the fallen.
The young faces stare back at you from black-tinted windows. Some wear Marine Corps dress blues. Others smile, their heads adorned by traditional camouflage caps.
Many Marines stop in their tracks as they walk by the vehicle for the first time, fixated on the memorial to the 10 Marines from the 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment killed in Iraq last year by a roadside bomb.
They salute. Two others make the sign of the cross.
The Hummer is that striking.
"My favorite part is the scene from heaven," said Karla Comfort, whose son, Lance Cpl. John Holmason, 20, was killed on Dec. 1, 2005, along with nine others based at Twentynine Palms.
Comfort commissioned an artist in Arkansas to paint portraits of the fallen Marines across the back windows of the truck shortly after her son died.
She thought it would be a lasting reminder of the sacrifices Marines make.
The truck was on display Thursday in a parking lot at Camp Pendleton as onlookers gathered to get a better view.
"I think it's awesome. Honorable. It's a nice tribute to these Marines," said Capt. Wes Woolf, a 44-year-old Temecula resident who stopped to see the truck.
Across the broad hood of the vehicle is a giant American flag. A memorial - a Marine's rifle, helmet, boots and dog tag - is painted on the right wheel well. Across the top, the words "Never Forget" beam in red letters.
"They are truly never forgotten," said Nancy Beamer, 39, of Murrieta. Beamer's husband, Gunnery Sgt. Wade Beamer Jr., 35, is serving in Iraq. He deployed in January and will be gone a year.
"It's going to be a long ride," said Nancy Beamer, who embraced Comfort for several moments, thanking her for the tribute. "It is so beautiful."
Comfort is driving the car across the country, having begun her trip in Arkansas, first stopping in Texas to visit the family of Lance Cpl. Robert Martinez, one of her son's closest friends in the Corps.
She wears a large diamond-studded heart pendent that bears the first picture her son took during his deployment to Iraq.
After leaving Pendleton, she will drive north to Oregon, where her son is buried. Holmason's 21st birthday would have been Jan. 16.
Comfort lived most recently in Michigan for five years but said she felt compelled to move back to Oregon to be closer to her son's grave.
"That was the only reason," said Comfort, whose son Josh, 17, is considering joining the Marines. "You wake up every day and find a reason to go on. My reason is I have kids."
"Whether you are for or against the war, I don't want these guys to be forgotten," she added.
Friday, March 3, 2006
A rolling memorial
Mother of a fallen Marine turns her Hummer into a tribute to him and his comrades.
By MICHAEL CORONADO
The Orange County Register
GRIEVING MOM: Karla Comfort wipes away a tear as she stands next to her hand-painted Hummer that she drove Thursday to Camp Pendleton.
YGNACIO NANETTI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marines remembered
• Lance Cpl. John Holmason, 20
• Lance Cpl. Robert Martinez, 20
• Staff Sgt. Daniel Clay, 27
• Lance Cpl. David Huhn, 24
• Lance Cpl. Adam Kaiser, 19
• Cpl. Anthony McElveen, 20
• Lance Cpl. Scott Modeen, 24
• Lance Cpl. Andrew Patten, 19
• Sgt. Andy Stevens, 29
• Lance Cpl. Craig Watson, 21
CAMP PENDLETON – The images on the black Hummer are a rolling tribute to the fallen.
The young faces stare back at you from black-tinted windows. Some wear Marine Corps dress blues. Others smile, their heads adorned by traditional camouflage caps.
Many Marines stop in their tracks as they walk by the vehicle for the first time, fixated on the memorial to the 10 Marines from the 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment killed in Iraq last year by a roadside bomb.
They salute. Two others make the sign of the cross.
The Hummer is that striking.
"My favorite part is the scene from heaven," said Karla Comfort, whose son, Lance Cpl. John Holmason, 20, was killed on Dec. 1, 2005, along with nine others based at Twentynine Palms.
Comfort commissioned an artist in Arkansas to paint portraits of the fallen Marines across the back windows of the truck shortly after her son died.
She thought it would be a lasting reminder of the sacrifices Marines make.
The truck was on display Thursday in a parking lot at Camp Pendleton as onlookers gathered to get a better view.
"I think it's awesome. Honorable. It's a nice tribute to these Marines," said Capt. Wes Woolf, a 44-year-old Temecula resident who stopped to see the truck.
Across the broad hood of the vehicle is a giant American flag. A memorial - a Marine's rifle, helmet, boots and dog tag - is painted on the right wheel well. Across the top, the words "Never Forget" beam in red letters.
"They are truly never forgotten," said Nancy Beamer, 39, of Murrieta. Beamer's husband, Gunnery Sgt. Wade Beamer Jr., 35, is serving in Iraq. He deployed in January and will be gone a year.
"It's going to be a long ride," said Nancy Beamer, who embraced Comfort for several moments, thanking her for the tribute. "It is so beautiful."
Comfort is driving the car across the country, having begun her trip in Arkansas, first stopping in Texas to visit the family of Lance Cpl. Robert Martinez, one of her son's closest friends in the Corps.
She wears a large diamond-studded heart pendent that bears the first picture her son took during his deployment to Iraq.
After leaving Pendleton, she will drive north to Oregon, where her son is buried. Holmason's 21st birthday would have been Jan. 16.
Comfort lived most recently in Michigan for five years but said she felt compelled to move back to Oregon to be closer to her son's grave.
"That was the only reason," said Comfort, whose son Josh, 17, is considering joining the Marines. "You wake up every day and find a reason to go on. My reason is I have kids."
"Whether you are for or against the war, I don't want these guys to be forgotten," she added.