Iraqi Veteran Thank You- A Covert Op
Every so often, mixed in with the news that makes you wonder where the human spirit is, you find news that’s uplifting and genuine. That’s the story of United States Marine Jared Foster and his 68 Camaro. This is the spirit we’re trying to capture at My Ride is Me.
During the Iraqi war, 24 year old Corporal Foster took a round in his back, effectively blowing him apart. After months in a coma and many surgeries, Corporal Foster returned to Arizona as a permanently disabled war veteran. Jared had a 68 Camaro he had left behind and a dream of restoring it even though his condition made it hard to get much work done. to keep things moving, he enlisted the help of John Bauler. John’s company, Hugger Connection, specializes in first generation Camaro restoration, so he was in good hands. It didn’t take long for John to realize that the Camaro was a BIG project. In learning about the car, John learned about a brave young man he affectionately calls, “The Kid” who had been wounded serving his country.
Not long after, John told the First Generation Camaros of Arizona car club about the project and that he wanted to help. He was quickly joined by the Cactus GTO club and before long, in total secrecy, Project Iraqi Veteran (PIV) was organized to harness the enthusiastic support and the generous donation of go-fast parts, labor and cash that was pouring in to help, Corporal Foster. In total, 28 companies and more than 100 individuals are listed as supporters of the PIV effort.
Some how, with all that help, they all managed to keep things secret. That made the March 2nd charity car show at the Commemorative Air Force Museum and Hanger at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ even more special. The plan was to reveal the Camaro, Overhaul’n style. He was picked up by the MP’s and led to believe there was a colonel waiting to meet him. Sitting in a Hummer and led by police escort, Jared arrived in boots and fatigues to a packed hanger of folks like me, waiting to see our American Hero.
Not long after, to a warm mix of cheers and tears, the cover was lifted. There sat what was once a near basket case Camaro that to Jared’s knowledge was somewhere in painters hands to fix some mysterious primer mishap. He was more than surprised! To one-up the Overhaul’n crew, during the restoration, Jared had even worked on this own car! With a few other first gen Camaro projects going on at Hugger Connection, Jared had no idea he was cleaning and painting parts for his own car. Well done Mr. Bauler!
The secret reveal, the car show and the Air Museum were all great. Jared’s story and the generosity that surrounded this effort brought the attention of all kinds of car lovers and media. I spotted channel 5, 10 and Fox Sport’s Net’s Motorsports Mania show. I’ll be watching to see if they caught me, my wife and 2 kids piled into our roadster and to hear the details I missed of this story.
I grabbed just a few pics from the show, but there were plenty of nice cars. Here’s just a few.
Today made me proud to be an American and I was happy to explain to my older son what it meant to sacrifice for something you believe in. Thank you to Jared and all the soldiers fighting for our country. And thank you to the show organizers and supporters who made this story happen. Finally, thanks to Bill Gilmore of Automotive Research Services who told me about this show and helped with this blog.
My spirit is in a fine state of repair.
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Hey; Thanks for the pic’s of my 1972 Pantera on the First Generation Camaros of Arizona car clubs Iraqi Veteran Thank You- A Covert Op Project. I had to call my brother in-law and tell him about his 1965 Mustang on your website…Too cool… Pat Lynch
It was fun to participate in the First Generation Camaros of Arizona car clubs Iraqi Veteran Thank you car show. I appreciate you showing pictures of My 1965 Mustang. Your readers might be interested to know that this Mustang has been in the faimly since new. In fact my wife, Mary, and I drove to Reno, Nv. 41 years ago and got married in this car and yes I am still marreid to the original wife.
It was great to take the whole family to this all American event. To see the look on Corporal Foster’s face was priceless! My husband, Paul, is in the First Generation Camaro Club and I am proud to say that he donated parts and time to this worthy cause. This is what it’s all about folks….helping to put a smile on the faces of those around you!
holy crap this morning i saw my buddy Jared “chunk” Foster who i was in Iraq with when he was shot by the .50 cal on tv with his Camaro and i was amazed i knew he had it but didnt know that this was getting done its awesome to see him recieve this. he is a great guy and definately deserves it. OOH RAHH Chunk
It was indeed a pleasure to lend my PR efforts to encourage media and enthusiasts to join in this celebration honoring someone who bravely served to protect each and every one of us so we can do wonderful things like attend car events. I’m glad to see the car community giving back and hope to see lots more this year. Lance will deliver my invitation directly to Jared to further honor him at the April NASCAR Nationwide race as my client’s team JD Motorsports (cars #0 and #01) honors a combat hero at each race all year. The Pentagon helps us locate the heros. I’ve found mine! Jared! I hope he wiill accept my invitation to be honorary team member for the day. Cindy
It was pleasure to help with this effort for a fellow service member.
Greg Anderson
US Army Retired
Lets not forget there are many other Vets out there that could use some encouragement!
What a fantastic project to give to a generous and brave man. Semper Fi!! I am forwarding this to Qatar and to Iraq. The AZ Street Machines in Tucson would like to thank Corp. Foster for his service to our country. To all who participated in this project, you are special people who have demonstrated the American tradition of helping your neighbor.
Thanks to everyone who’s commented on this story. I’m grateful to be able to tell this story and I second the feeling that all returning service men deserve our thanks and appreciation. I hope this story and these notes show all of you we care. Keep the comments coming!
You have told this story so well, thank you for doing this. You were the only family I spotted riding in a roadster that afternoon how fun. I spent the day helping with the parking
so I saw just about everyone who came in. What a great crowd I spoke with so many nice people. The support for this young man was just overwhelming. I believe Lance and John left us with a challenge Sunday. That is to reach out and say thank you to other Vets with broken bodies and shattered dreams. Bless them all.
The Vets are our heroes, but those who support them are a huge part of helping them wake up everyday to the hell that they’re in and feel motivated to do the job that their country sent them to do. What an awesome thing you folks have done. Thanks for doing it! Mark Randall- Formerly OS2 Randall USN USS Fletcher DD-992 1988-1992
I was at this event….great turn-out and it was awesome to see something being done for a returning injured war veteran. Remember, THESE KIDS volunteered to go fight for what they believe in! We all can be VERY PROUD of these young people!
As many of you may know, I helped coordinate the event along with John Bauler and various individuals from our club, the First Generation Camaros of Arizona, as well as a few members from The Cactus GTO car club. I was the person basically handling the logistics of this entire project and I can tell you this—there was no lack of support from the citizens of this country. It was stunning to see the amount of financial support we received, as well as the support from the parts industry. I personally have never seen a group of people this large and this focused on rewarding one of our soldiers—and Corporal Foster was the conduit to those many others that are serving as we speak. Through his sacrafice, we could honor them all, by just helping him. And he is a great guy !!! He’s a class act and I can truly say we are taking care of one well-deserving young man. For everyone that contributed to this project, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. More pics of the event are available at: http://hotrodplanet.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
Stopped in to revisit this wonderful experience and hoping everyone will keep the momentum going by saying thank you in similar ways to the men and women who have bravely given of themselves to keep us safe. Semper Fi.
Hey everyone! Give the guys at the Classic Glass Corvette Club out of Marietta, Georgia a pat on the back for following suit and prettying-up Sgt. First Class Adam Troxel’s Corvette! http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/01/17/corvette-club-steps-up-and-honors-a-returning-soldier/
Warm fuzzies years later. Hug