Marine Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason

Died December 1, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

---

20, of Suprise, Ariz.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Dec. 1 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Clay, Lance Cpl. David A. Huhn, Lance Cpl. Adam W. Kaiser, Lance Cpl. Robert A. Martinez, Cpl. Anthony T. McElveen, Lance Cpl. Scott T. Modeen, Lance Cpl. Andrew G. Patten, Sgt. Andy A. Stevens, and Lance Cpl. Craig N. Watson.

---

Painted tribute: Mother honors fallen son with Hummer memorial

Karla Comfort wants to share her son’s memory with everyone on the road.

Her son, Lance Cpl. John Holmason, and nine other leathernecks from Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, were killed by a roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.

Comfort has since created a moving memorial.

“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 said.

She bought a Hummer H3 in January and took it to AirbrushGuy & Co. in Benton, Ark., where artist Robert Powell spent 250 hours changing the black vehicle into a piece of patriotic art.

Comfort requested Powell include her son in his dress blues with the faces of the nine other Marines. He also included Marines carrying their fallen comrades to their final resting place, an American flag across the hood and the words “Semper Fi” on the windshield.

Even the spare tire cover shares Holmason’s memory, featuring the same eagle, globe and anchor design that was tattooed on his back.

Comfort drove from Arkansas to Camp Pendleton, Calif., to share the finished product with leathernecks on March 2.

“I wanted to let people know [Marines] are doing their jobs honorably, and some of them die,” Comfort said.

“I don’t want people to forget.”