growing up without a dad isn't good, but having very little to remember him by, would be worse. Tristan's dad was a Marine that was KIA in the Anbar province in 2007, and since then, his Bronco was set to go to his 4 yr old eldest son, Tristan, when he came of age. Then 2 months ago, his mom sold it

The relationship between Julie Walsh and her teenage son took a turn for the worse about two months back.

“Where is my dad’s Bronco?” Triston said that day in early December as they pulled up to the house and he noticed the 29-year-old SUV gone from the garage. As the years had gone by, the old truck had sat in the garage, needing a lot of work.

“Triston, I sold it,” Mom told her son, then 15. It needed too much work. Money for Dad’s old clunker can be used toward getting another vehicle you can actually drive once you get your license in a few months, she said.

Think it's rough living with a teen? Tell the kid, you just sold, his soon to be very own Bronco. Then see what a shitshow it is trying to get along with the kid.

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What Triston did not know and what his mom, Julie Walsh, had successfully kept secret for nearly two months was that his dad’s beloved Bronco had not been sold. It had been towed to a local dealership, where thousands of dollars was poured into renovating the SUV. The Bronco was restored at Mertz Ford in Millstadt, Ill, with volunteer labor and parts from many donors because Tristan's mom Julie had been secretly working to restore the Bronco with help from a variety of sources, including Mertz Ford, the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation and dozens of Millstadt-area community members and businesses. Don and Debbie Mertz, who own the dealership, said they wanted to help, and they learned that the service technicians were willing to take on the Bronco in addition to their normal workload.

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On Saturday, Jan 26th 2019, Triston turned 16 and his mom told him they were stopping in to test drive a car that could replace the Bronco. The Bronco that Triston thought was long gone. Instead, it was tucked out of sight, in an area between the service department and the showroom.

They walked into the Mertz Ford showroom, and long story short, the Bronco was driven through a brown paper wall divider, from the service area, by his dad's Marine buddies.

Service Manager Ricky Boyer had towed the 1990 Bronc to the dealership, where the guys in the service bays resealed the intake manifold, overhauled the rear differential, replaced the tires and wheels, and buffed the paint to a like new shine

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Then there was the roar of an engine, followed by a roar of applause. Tim Jarrett, one of the technicians who had pulled an all-nighter to get the Bronco ready for the big reveal, slowly drove the SUV through a makeshift butcher paper curtain.

In the Bronco were three Marines who served with Tristan's dad, Sgt. Nicholas Walsh. There was no hesitation to come into town for the party, they said.

“This is an undying brotherhood,” said Ben Pollmeier of Ocean City, Md. “We always take care of our own. No matter what.”

“Nick would have done the same for all of us,” added Terry Wiese of Lincoln, Neb.

Brian Rasmussen of Salt Lake City said the Marines came after Julie Walsh contacted them through Facebook. She wanted input from her husband’s friends on what to do about the Bronco. Soon, she was put in touch with the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation, which helps veterans and their families.

“They told me to reach out to a local dealership,” Walsh said. Support was immediate, she said.

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Sgt Walsh's grandfather, Walter R. Walsh, was also a Marine, as were two of Walsh's cousins and an uncle. Walsh, who joined the Marines right out of high school, served four years, was out of the service for two years, for college, then re-enlisted. He finished his first tour in Iraq in March 2006.

http://www.forcerecon.com/Sgt-Nicholas-R-Walsh.htm
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/mom-did-not-tell-the-truth-about-dad-s-old/article_c0b3d177-fa46-5d0e-980c-694958f68cfc.html
https://www.mertzford.com/
https://www.garagestylemagazine.com/ sent a short note about this story in their newsletter
https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/marine-sgt-nicholas-r-walsh/2793620