Story of Vet and his Corvette Captures the True Spirit of America

I have to admit, I’ve always been partial to any story about a U.S. veteran’s love for his or her American automobile.

To me, these two things represent a lot of the stuff that makes America great. Over the years, I’ve come across some pretty emotional stories about veterans and their cars, but the one I stumbled on of a former Marine staff sergeant named Mike Kimmons probably tops the list.

Diagnosed with liver cancer and only given a few months to live, the Vietnam veteran had one wish topping his bucket list  — being able to take his wife, Nancy, for a cruise in his 1964 Corvette that had been sitting for 25 years.

So a group of his friends in Nebraska secretly got together to fix the car, purchasing a new gas tank, a new brake system and a number of other needed parts to get Kimmons’ Corvette up and running again.

Even people who didn’t personally know Kimmons chipped in to help on the project called “Help a Marine.”

Kimmons, a lifelong guitar player, was reunited with his spiffed-up Corvette during a surprise party thrown for him on March 8.

Unfortunately, Kimmons died six days later, but according to Dennis Buckley at the Journal Star, the veteran was able to get behind the wheel and take his wife around the block for that one final cruise. The efforts shown by everyone who came together for this Corvette project is one of the things that makes this country great.

via [Journal Star]