gkainz
Final Approach
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 2, 2006)
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, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st
Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive
device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.
For 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, Ore. "I don't
want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made."
Leading up to her son's death, 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.
Marines knocked on the front door of her home in Farmington, Mich., at 3
a.m. with the dreadful news. "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."
Comfort came up with the idea for the rolling memorial when she and her
two other sons attended John's funeral in Portland, Ore. "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
AirbrushGuy & 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 Comfort's loss and the
sacrifices the Marines made, AirbrushGuy & 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." Comfort gave Powell basic instructions on what to
include in the paint job. But in addition to the image of her son in Dress Blues
and the faces of the nine other Marines, there were several surprises. "He
put a lot more on than I expected," she said. "I think my favorite part is the
heaven scene."
On the left side of the vehicle, a detail of Marines are depicted carrying
their fallen comrades through the clouds to their final resting place. The
American flag drapes across the hood, the words, "Semper Fi" crown the
front windshield and the spare tire cover carries the same Eagle Globe and
Anchor design that her son had tattooed on his back. "All the support I have
been getting is wonderful," she said.
Comfort decided to move back to her hometown of Portland, and making the
cross-country trip from Arkansas was a way for her to share her son's
story.
It's also her way of coping with the loss. "Along the way I got nothing
but positive feedback from people," she said. "What got to me was when people
would salute the guys (Marines). It's hard to look at his picture. I still
cry and try to get used to the idea, but it's hard to grasp the idea that
he's really gone."
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, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st
Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive
device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.
For 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, Ore. "I don't
want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made."
Leading up to her son's death, 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.
Marines knocked on the front door of her home in Farmington, Mich., at 3
a.m. with the dreadful news. "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."
Comfort came up with the idea for the rolling memorial when she and her
two other sons attended John's funeral in Portland, Ore. "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
AirbrushGuy & 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 Comfort's loss and the
sacrifices the Marines made, AirbrushGuy & 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." Comfort gave Powell basic instructions on what to
include in the paint job. But in addition to the image of her son in Dress Blues
and the faces of the nine other Marines, there were several surprises. "He
put a lot more on than I expected," she said. "I think my favorite part is the
heaven scene."
On the left side of the vehicle, a detail of Marines are depicted carrying
their fallen comrades through the clouds to their final resting place. The
American flag drapes across the hood, the words, "Semper Fi" crown the
front windshield and the spare tire cover carries the same Eagle Globe and
Anchor design that her son had tattooed on his back. "All the support I have
been getting is wonderful," she said.
Comfort decided to move back to her hometown of Portland, and making the
cross-country trip from Arkansas was a way for her to share her son's
story.
It's also her way of coping with the loss. "Along the way I got nothing
but positive feedback from people," she said. "What got to me was when people
would salute the guys (Marines). It's hard to look at his picture. I still
cry and try to get used to the idea, but it's hard to grasp the idea that
he's really gone."
