A couple of weeks ago I shared some photos of the Paint job Memorial Jack Bouthillier did for his son, and the other young Canadians who have died in the line of Duty. This is a memoriam from a US Marine Mother for her son and his brothers in arms. Sent to me by a former member of the INVISIBLE ARMY, Irene wife of a Veteran.
Karla Comfort received a lot of looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted, custom Hummer H3 March 2. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7 the Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.
For Karla Comfort, having the vehicle air brushed with the image of the 10 Marines was a way to pay homage to her hero and his fellow comrades who fell on Iraq's urban battlefield. 'I wanted to let people know (Marines) are doing their jobs honorably, and some of them die,' said the 39-year-old from Portland , OR . 'I don't want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made.'
Leading up to her son's death, Karla Comfort had received several letters from him prior to his return. He had been deployed for five months, and Comfort 'worried everyday he was gone until she got the letters and found out the date he was coming home,' she said. Karla Comfort came up with the idea for the rolling memorial when she and her two other sons attended John's funeral in Portland, Ore.
Marines knocked on the front door of her home in Farmington , Mich. , at 3 am with the dreadful news. The fear and dread of all members of the Invisible Army 'I let my guard down when I found out he was coming home,' she said. 'There are times that I still cannot believe it happened. It's very hard to deal with.'
'I saw a Vietnam (War) memorial on a car, and I said to my son Josh, 'we should do something like that for John,' she recalled. 'He loved Hummers.'
She purchased the vehicle in January and immediately took it to Airbrush Guy Co. In Benton , Ark. , where artist Robert Powell went to work on changing the plain, black vehicle into a decorative, mobile, art piece.
'I only had the vehicle for two days before we took it in,' she joked.
Two hundred and fifty man-hours later, Powell had completed the vehicle. The custom job would have cost $25,000. Out of respect for Karla Comfort's loss and the sacrifices the Marines made, Airbrush Guy Co. Did it for free. Comfort only had to purchase the paint, which cost $3,000.
'I love it,' she said. 'I'm really impressed with it, and I think John would be happy with the vehicle.. He would have a big smile on his face because he loved Hummers.'
Indeed with all the adverse press about the mission in Afghanistan. The Mothers, Fathers, Wives, Husbands,Sons, Daughters, Siblings,, Brothers in arms, extended families and friends and loved ones. All members of The Invisible Army. Continue showing the love and pride of their loved one in many many ways. May God Bless them all and comfort all NATO familes with Love and Prayers.
Historically Afghanistan has always been difficult to conquer. In 1842 Afghans massacred the entire British Force of 6500 bar 1 man who survived to tell the tale.
http://www.afghanistan-photos.com/crbst_31.html http://history1800s.about.com/od/colonialwars/a/kabul1842.htm http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?c=117a=1862
On the 13th of January, just seven days after the retreat commenced, one man, bloody and torn, mounted on a miserable pony, and pursued by horsemen, was seen riding furiously across the plains to Jellalabad. That was Dr. Brydon, the sole person to tell the tale of the passage of Khourd Caboul.
More than 16,000 people had set out on the retreat from Kabul, and in the end only one man, Dr. William Brydon, a British Army surgeon, had made it alive to Jalalabad. The garrison there lit signal fires and sounded bugles to guide other British survivors to safety, but after several days they realized that Brydon would be the only one. It was believed the Afghans let him live so he could tell the grisly story.
So as we read Historical Accounts of Afghanistan we must continue showing our support for all of Our Troops, NGO's and other Canadaian and NATO personnel serving in Afghanistan. In hopes and prayers that history does not always repeat itself Thankyou.
Remember Everyone Deployed
Nil Sine labore
Robby
