The son of a soldier who lost his life in Iraq has gotten his father's old car back, with help from some patriotic Utahns.
U.S. Army First Lt. Jonathan Rozier was killed in 2003 serving in Iraq, leaving behind in Texas his wife Jessica and 9-month-old son Justin, along with a 1999 Toyota Celica GT that Jessica sold to make ends meet.
Today, Jessica, seeking to give the car to Justin now that he is old enough to drive, tracked the vehicle to the town of Pleasant Grove, Utah, where locals were able to find it and the owner agreed to give it up, KSL reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sLndCx39Tw&feature=youtu.be
Kyle Fox saw a post from Jessica on the Pleasant Grove Facebook page, and so he shared it with his friends. As a leader of the patriotic group "Follow the Flag," Fox has a large social media following, which came in handy when someone recognized the car from his post.
That person happened to see the car parked outside—not in its usual place inside the owner's garage—and then told Fox, who contacted the owner to see if he would be willing to sell. The owner of the car, Jorge Cruz, had been looking for a GT model for years but said there was a higher reason to give up the convertible he dreamed about as a teenager.
"I believe nothing happens for just chance. Something has a purpose in life, and if you can make somebody happy, do it," Cruz said. "It's bittersweet for me, but that's a good feeling somebody is going to be happy out of this."
"I wanted it as a project," Cruz said. "My wife told me not to buy it because I didn't need it, but I had to get it."
Seeing the Facebook post about bringing Justin his father's car back convinced Cruz to sell it. Fox has raised the money to buy it, fix it up, and return it to Texas through a GoFundMe page.
"I did not serve and I realize there can be soldiers everywhere," Fox said. "We're all patriots and you can do it in your own backyard. We all should be doing it. It's very rewarding."