Rochester, N.Y. – NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 honored fallen Marine Cpl. Reynold Armand, a Rochester native, by featuring his name on Daniel Suarez’s Freeway Insurance car #99 on Sunday.
Armand, a graduate of Eastridge High School, was killed in combat Iraq in 2007 at just 21-years-old. His mother, Miriam Velez, shared his journey.
“Never in my life that ever expected him to be going to the Marines,” Velez said.
Velez recalled her son’s determination to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Marines, despite her initial concerns during the start of the Iraqi war. She eventually supported his decision.
“One day he came home to me and he said, ‘mom, I want to join the Marines,'” Velez said. “I am a proud mom because that was something at that time that he wanted to do.”
Velez expressed her pride in seeing her son’s name on the Freeway Insurance’s NASCAR car, noting her long-standing connection with the company.
“It’s quite an honor,” Velez said. “And I worked at Freeway for 12 years.”
Velez is now working with other military moms to form the Latino Military Coalition, aiming to break down language barriers in the veteran and military family community.
“Lot of the places that they have events. Most of the Latinos don’t even know about it,” Velez said.
Suarez, whose car carried Armand’s name during the race, did not finish.
AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News10NBC uses AI.
Fallen Rochester Marine Corporal Reynold Armand honored at Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race WHEC.com.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Fallen Rochester Marine Corporal Reynold Armand honored at Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race )
Also on site :