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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

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.

Marines knocked on the front door of her home in
Farmington, Mich., at 3 am 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."

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.
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 Karla 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."
Karla 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.

Karla 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
Let's get this Hummer going around the world, we won't
forget!