1LT Todd Weaver

I was recently reminded of an incident which took place two years ago. I believe there are no coincidences in life. There are incidents which, upon reflection, help us to understand our human condition.

 

A mother was headed home from work one day when the song I Drive Your Truck played over her radio. She called her son to ask him if he was aware of the song. You see, her son had bought a soldier’s truck one month before that soldier deployed to Afghanistan, two years earlier in 2010. The young man’s father had accompanied him to meet the soldier and to test drive the silver blue Toyota Tundra. He later said of the soldier and his truck.

 

“It seemed to be a nice truck and had been taken care of very well…I told my son that the soldier seemed to be an honest guy who should be easy to deal with. His personality bore that out.”

 

Two years after purchasing the truck, and after listening to the song on the car radio, they were reminded of the soldier who had sold his truck and given his life for his country. They decided to contact the soldier’s mother through the website which had been built in his memory. 

 

 “I told her about meeting her son…I told her that I thought he was a hero  and how much I appreciated his service.”

 

The soldier was my son, 1LT Todd W. Weaver, KIA 9/9/2010, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

 

I sent the father a coin which I had designed. I created the coin in memory of Todd and gave it to his dad as a Christmas gift. Today my husband, Donn, continues to carry that coin with him each day. He presents the coin to others as a symbol of military legacy in remembrance of Todd. 

 

The young man who purchased Todd’s truck attached that coin to the dashboard of his silver blue Tundra. 

 

One cold rainy night in 2013, the young man was driving the wet slick backroads of Kentucky. The truck fishtailed on an S curve. Barely missing a tree, the truck plummeted into the middle of a pond. He grabbed a few personal items including the coin and made his way safely to the top of the truck. As the truck gurgled and sunk to the bottom of the pond he called his dad and swam to safety. 

 

 “He was fine and we have thanked God many times over for his safety", said the father. "We think he had an angel on board. He has a new truck now. Again, Todd’s coin is adhered to the dashboard.”