Gold Star mother drives fallen son’s truck cross country

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Keith Michael Williams’ name is one of 6,915 on the granite markers of the Global War Terrorism memorial, dedicated Oct. 16 in a ceremony at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.

But during the dedication, another tribute to Williams, sat in the parking lot.

Debbie Tuttle has kept alive the memory of her son, who was killed in July 2014 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan, through one of his prized possessions, his first and only vehicle, a 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck.

The truck is painted to honor veterans, those serving today and those who, like Williams, paid the ultimate price. Tuttle made sure it was in Columbus for the dedication, driving it cross country from her home in Visalia, Calif., to Fort Benning, where her son graduated from basic training in December 2013.

The $2 million memorial honors all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines killed in the ongoing war that was the United States’ response to the attack of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I am speaking as a mom — because that’s what I am, a mom — a mom’s worst fear is that your child is going to be forgotten and their sacrifice is going to be forgotten,” she said on Oct. 15 just before she spoke to more than 250 people at a fundraising dinner for the memorial. “A lot of the things I do are around remembering him and keeping his memory alive in fun ways — that’s why I did the truck.”

The survivors are called Gold Star families, and Tuttle was not the only one to speak. Nick Loudon, a former Army officer, told the story of his brother, 2nd Lt. Christopher Loudon, who was killed in October 2006 by an IED in Iraq.

Nick Loudon had to identify his brother and escort his body home.

He said he was glad to see he was speaking before Tuttle in the program’s lineup.

“Originally, one of our Gold Star mothers was supposed to speak before me, and I really did not want to speak after a Gold Star mother,” Loudon said. “Let me begin by saying that no one is more profoundly changed by the loss of an American service member than their mother.”

The truck was purchased on Dec. 31, 2013, in California shortly after Williams graduated from basic training, but before he reported to his unit in the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo.

Williams and his mom spent most of that New Year’s Eve shopping for that truck.

“I wanted him to have wheels at Fort Carson,” she said.

The truck also was an important part of watching the boy she had raised become a soldier and a man.

Tuttle said her son was a “cool kid,” a California surfer dude who liked to skate and snowboard but that he took a big step when he reported to Fort Benning in the fall of 2013 and then graduated on the parade field near the new memorial.

“This place is very special to me,” she said of Fort Benning. “My son walked off that parade field over there. …”

Tuttle then looked at the field and paused for about 10 seconds before finishing her thought.

“He came to Fort Benning a boy, and he marched off that field a proud U.S. infantryman,” she said. “It was the proudest day of his life. We were just so proud of him.”

He was killed less than seven months later.

The IED that killed Williams also took the life of Staff Sgt. Benjamin Prange of Hickman, Neb. One of the stops Tuttle made on her trip to Georgia was at Prange’s gravesite in Lincoln, Neb.

“I just felt like Keith would want me to go see him,” Tuttle said. “I was surprised by the emotions. … They died together.”

The mother and son bonded through music, and as she drove the truck to Columbus, she listened to songs and sang along the way.

“That is my therapy,” Tuttle said. “I feel most connected to him when I am listening to his music.”

“He came to Fort Benning a boy, and he marched off that field a proud U.S. infantryman. It was the proudest day of his life. We were just so proud of him.”

— DEBBIE TUTTLE, MOTHER OF KEITH MICHAEL WILLIAMS, WHO WAS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN