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thedrifter
11-22-07, 04:11 AM
Vehicle a canvas for Navy corpsman's memorial
Truck carries tributes to fallen son

Parents of Luke Emch, who died serving in Iraq, have their son's memory preserved on pickup

By Jim Carney Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Thursday, Nov 22, 2007

BRIMFIELD TWP.: Wes Emch looks at the 1999 Ford Ranger and sees his son.

''I see Lukey,'' Emch said last week, as he walked around the truck that has been air-brush painted into a moving memorial to his son, Lucas ''Luke'' W.A. Emch, a 21-year-old Navy corpsman killed in Iraq on March 2.

He points to the images that have been painted on all sides of the truck that he originally owned and later sold to his son.

''These are snapshots of his life,'' the 53-year-old Emch said.

On the passenger side of the truck is a portrait of the 2004 Tallmadge High School graduate who joined the Navy in 2005 — despite his opposition to the war in Iraq — so he could help Marines as a corpsman, or medic.

Next to his picture are the words ''raging liberal,'' to describe Emch's political leanings.

There are images of the things he loved on the tan truck.

There is the picture of the jersey of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and of Lambeau Field, where the Packers play in Wisconsin. Emch was a fan of the team, and a Packers club has been set up in his name at Rico's Restaurant and Lounge
on Tallmadge Road in Brimfield Township for televised games.

There is the image of his parents' house.

There is a picture he drew of the ''Luke Express'' for Wes Emch on Father's Day when he was 7 years old.

''I want people to know not only was he courageous,'' his father said, ''he was just a neat guy.''

The painting was done by artist Mike Horvath of New Franklin with the help of Jimmy Spencer, the owner of Green Collision, an auto-repair shop.

Horvath, 35, spent more than four months working on the truck.

''Even though I never met Luke, so many times when I was working on the vehicle alone, it felt like Luke was standing right beside me,'' Horvath said.

It became so emotional at times, he said, that ''some days I would have to walk away.''

Wes Emch, a Cuyahoga Falls High School teacher, and his wife, Julie, a Tallmadge Middle School teacher, built a garage this summer for their son's truck.

''The biggest fear we have is that he will be forgotten,'' Wes Emch said. ''We don't want that. We want people to see this and know about Luke.''

Emch served with an explosive ordnance disposal unit that worked to defuse bombs and mines.

He was killed when a secondary fuse ignited a bomb that his unit thought had been successfully disarmed.


His father said his son and his comrades, through their work finding explosives and roadside bombs and treating the wounded, had saved many lives.

''There are hundreds of American soldiers and Marines walking around because of what his team did,'' he said. ''That is his legacy.''

Luke, the elder Emch said, ''died protecting them.''

''As corny as that sounds, it's true.''
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.

Ellie