Which is fitting, because Memorial Day is when we honor the war dead. Ask any veteran, any active duty soldier, sailor, Marine or airman, and they will tell you the same thing. These are the true American heroes.
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As with the Indianapolis 500, which begins about noon ET Sunday, the Coca-Cola 600 will pay tribute to the men and women who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of their country.
Memorial Day is Monday. A national holiday, every American has an opportunity to reflect and recall someone they know, possibly family member, who died in service since the Civil War.
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Cars will carry patriotic or military-style colors in Sunday’ Sprint Cup race. Each will have the name of a fallen military member atop its windshield where the driver’s name usually appears.
Here is the list of the honored dead. Know who they are, think of the hundreds of thousands of fallen heroes and remember the freedoms they defended.
No. 1 car, driver Jamie McMurray: Lance Cpl. Scott Albert Lynch, U.S. Marine Corps; Afghanistan
No. 2 car, driver Brad Keselowski: Spc. Joseph T. Prentler, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 3 car, driver Austin Dillon: Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Mark “Badger” Carter (SEAL), U.S. Navy; Iraq
No. 4 car, driver Kevin Harvick: Lance Cpl. Nathan Ross Elrod, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 5 car, driver Kasey Kahne: Lance Cpl. Eric Levi Ward, U.S. Marine Corps; Afghanistan
No. 6 car, driver Trevor Bayne: Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason William McCormack, U.S. Army; South Korea
No. 7 car, driver Regan smith: Lance Cpl. Cody Stevens Childers, U.S. Marine Corps; Afghanistan
No. 10 car, driver Danica Patrick: Lance Cpl. Benito “Cheeks” Ramirez, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 11 car, driver Denny Hamlin: Sgt. John Davis Harvey, U.S. Marine Corps; Iran
No. 13 car, driver Casey Mears: Spc. Christopher Shane Wright, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 14 car, driver Tony Stewart: Master Sgt. Paul D. Karpowich, U.S. Army; Iraq
No. 15 car, driver Clint Bowyer: Master Sgt. Tara Brown, U.S. Air Force; Afghanistan
No. 16 car, driver Greg Biffle: Spc. Joel A. Taylor, U.S. Army; Iraq
No. 17 car, driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: SP 4 James H. Woolard, U.S. Army; Vietnam
No. 18 car, driver Kyle Busch: Pfc. Robert Stephan Underwood, U.S. Army; Vietnam
No. 19 car, driver Carl Edwards: Capt. Edmond Jablonsky Jr., U.S. Army; Vietnam
No. 20 car, driver Matt Kenseth: Pfc. Christopher Neal White, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 21 car, driver Ryan Blaney: Signalman Seaman Cherone L. Gunn, U.S. Navy; aboard USS Cole
No. 22 car, driver Joey Logano: Spc. Cindy Beaudoin, U.S. Army; Operation Desert Storm
No. 23 car, driver David Ragan: Lt. Col. Paul Keith Mikeal, U.S. Air Force; five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
No. 24 car, driver Chase Elliott: Gunnery Sgt. Justin Martone, U.S. Marine Corps;, Iraq
No. 27 car, driver Paul Medard: Spc. Zachary Lee Shannon, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 30 car, driver Josh Wise: Staff Sgt. Robert A. Massarelli, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 31 car, driver Ryan Newman: Staff Sgt. Jason C. Ramseyer, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 32 car, driver Jeffrey Earnhardt: Capt. Christopher Cash, U.S. Army; Iraq
No. 34 car, driver Chris Buescher: Staff Sgt. Eric A. McIntosh, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 38 car, driver Landon Cassill: Pvt. Earl Platt, U.S. Army; World War I
No. 41 car, driver Kurt Busch: Sgt. Nicholas Ray Gibbs, U.S. Army
No. 42 car, driver Kyle Larson: Special Warfare Operator 3rd Class Denis Christian Miranda (SEAL), U.S. Navy; Afghanistan
No. 43 car, driver Aric Almirola: Staff Sgt. Forest Sibley, U.S. Air Force; Afghanistan
No. 44 car, driver Brian Scott: Pfc. John G. Borbonus, U.S. Army; Iraq
No. 46 car, driver Michael Annett: Pfc. Jacob Henry Wykstra, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 47 car, driver AJ Allmendinger: Yeoman 3rd Class Wendell Williams, U.S. Navy
No. 48 car, driver Jimmie Johnson: Sgt. 1st Class Kyle B. Wehrly, U.S. Army; Iraq
No. 55 car, driver Reed Sorenson: Pfc. Jason Hill Estopinal, U.S. Marine Corps; Afghanistan
No. 78 car, driver Martin Truex Jr.: Gunnery Sgt. Jeffery E. Bohr Jr., U.S. Marine Corps; Operation Iraqi Freedom
No. 83 car, driver Matt DiBenedetto: Lance Cpl. Jared C. Verbeek, U.S. Marine Corps
No. 88 car, driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Lance Cpl. Aaron Howard Reed, U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
No. 95 car, driver Michael McDowell: Pfc. Andrew Mark Krippner, U.S. Army; Afghanistan
No. 98 car, driver Cole Whitt: Cpl. Michael D. Anderson Jr., U.S. Marine Corps; Iraq
Pace car: Capt. Matthew Roland, U.S. Air Force; Afghanistan
Split pace car: 1st Sgt. Kevin A. Dupont, U.S. Marine Corps; Afghanistan
Grand Marshal car No. 2: Spc. Tony J. Gonzales, U.S. Army; Operation Iraqi Freedom
Grand Marshal car: Sgt. Bryan Paul Abercrombie, U.S. Army; Honduras
