Soldier Returns from Iraq to his “New” Old Mustang

While America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appear to be finally winding down, it is important to remember that there are still hundreds of thousands of American troops deployed around the world, many of them in these war zones. And while America may be divided over the wars themselves, we all have a great respect for our culture of warriors who protect and serve this country with their lives.

So we were very happy to read this story from the U.S. Army homepage about the men and women of Austin, Texas coming together to take one soldiers old, beat up Mustang and give it a fresh lease on life, surprising the young soldier who just returned from Iraq.

Staff Sgt. James Roach of the U.S. Army National Guard recently returned from his deployment in Iraq overseas recently, and started talking to his wife Tracy about selling his beloved Mustang. Though the car had taken him all over the country, it had a sagging door, faded paint that now looked pinkish, and a host of other issues requiring attention.

Unbeknownest to him, one of Tracy’s bosses, Dr. David Butler, had called together a number of area automotive specialists to fix up Roach’s old Mustang. So when he went to pickup up his Mustang from what he thought was just some brake work, he was shocked to see that over $10,000 had been invested into bringing the Mustang back to showroom condition. This included a new paint job, engine tuneup, brake work, fixing the sagging door, and of course, brand new “designer” rims.