the BENJAMIN YOUNG PROJECT

a father's tribute to his fallen warrior son

by Mike Young

I lost my son, PFC Benjamin Gandalf Young, on 27 May 2007. 

We worked on a 58 Chevy Panel truck that I gave to him for his high school graduation present. It was his daily driver when he worked in the engine shop for Furniture Row Racing, the NASCAR team based out of Denver, before he went in the Army.  I am restoring the 58 to honor Ben and all others who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I have decided that on the hood of the truck will be a painting of the US flag with the stripes forming flames down the side of the front fenders. In each of the 50 stars in the Flag, I want to put the name of a fallen warrior from each of the 50 States. The stars will be gold instead of white to represent Gold Star Fathers who have also sacrificed.

I would like to be able to find 50 Fathers, one from each of the States, to get permission to include their son or daughter's name on this project.

To give you an idea of what else is included in this project, the 58 will also have the following installed:

The engine (click thumbnail to expand) is a 327 from a 67 Camero that is being rebuilt by DC Racing engines in Denver. Ben worked for DC.  DC was the head engine builder for Furniture Row Racing. The flame job behind the engine was painted by Ben.
The rear end is a 9" Ford rear end built by Strange engineering.
The turbos are by Squires Turbo and will be frenched into the rear quarter panels of the truck.
The gas tanks will be the fuel cans used by the NASCAR teams to put fuel in the racecars in the pits during the race, installed inside of the panel.

The truck will have the Flag on the hood and on the fenders with a vinyl wrap around the rest of the truck which will include the emblems of the branches of the Military and the POW/MIA emblem.
The truck will have cameras installed in place of the rear view mirrors with a video monitor in the glove box.
The door handles will be shaved and electric door locks will be used to open the doors.

This is a photo (click thumbnail to expand) of Ben with the 58. The flame job behind the engine was painted by Ben. 

This photo (click thumbnail to expand) was a tribute the team put on the car the day they learned of Ben's death.  Additional pictures can be found at: http://rides.webshots.com/album/575365357rrLxoj

I am also looking for a very clear picture of the Soldiers Cross, with the boots, rifle, helmet and dog tags to include on the graphics of the truck.

If you have any ideas on how I can get in touch with Gold Star Fathers to include the name of their fallen on a star, Please contact me at: Bens58project@aol.com

RICHARD R. GIDEON FLAGS is providing this page and information as a public service - we are not affiliated with this project nor gain financially from it.  All questions and comments should be directed to Mr. Young at Bens58project@aol.com