{"id":17077,"date":"2018-07-04T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T11:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=17077"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:25:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:25:03","slug":"taking-the-amtrack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/owners-clubs\/2018\/07\/taking-the-amtrack.html","title":{"rendered":"Taking the AmTrack"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Marine LCpl Wesley Canning knew he was going to be a Marine. After September 11th, he wanted to give back to the country he loved so much and he began talking with recruiters. \u201cWhen he enlisted, it scared the crap out of our parents,\u201d his sister Amanda says with a laugh, but they knew it was where his heart was.<\/p>\n

Wes became an AmTracker; a crew member on a tracked amphibious vehicle. \u201cIt can be used for troop transport, as a shuttle, as an attack vehicle,\u201d Amanda points out. \u201cIt\u2019s not actually a tank, but because it has tracks, lots of people call it a tank.\u201d So Wes laced up his boots and did his first tour of duty in Iraq, came home and got married. Then in 2004, he went back for his second tour. Sadly, he lost his life on November 10, 2004.<\/p>\n

This is NOT your typical tear-jerker story though. Through his sister, Wes\u2019 memory is as strong now as ever. Amanda has made it her mission to remember her brother and share his story by creating a tribute car in his honor. Starting with a 2014 Dodge Charger, she had it wrapped with special graphics, but \u201ctwo weeks later, the car was totalled in an accident!\u201d says Amanda. \u201cWe believe that Wes didn\u2019t like the way it turned out, so he gave us a nudge to start over.\u201d (She giggles at that!)<\/p>\n

That nudge got Amanda into a 2016 Dodge Charger and she went back to work with her designer, Shawn Wesson of DBS Graphics in Corpus Christi, Texas. \u201cThe new car was a better canvas for this project,\u201d says Amanda. They were able to incorporate a number of important pieces, including the Marine Corp emblem, Wes\u2019 unit patch and a tribute to his dog tags. Camouflage, the American flag. There\u2019s also his silhouette holding up the American flag that was taken from an actual photograph of him overseas, similar to that famous picture from Iwo Jima. Everywhere you look on the car, there are reminders of Wes and what he believed in. The roof features a Gold Star flag representing those killed in action. \u201cBecause he was an AmTracker, the side of the car has tracks inspiring the name on my Instagram page: GoldStarTank.\u201d<\/p>\n