1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Story by Sgt. Richard Rzepka

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For many Soldiers the shot at winning a new car seems like a dream, but for one Fort Campbell Soldier that dream became a reality, July 7, when he was handed the keys to his new ride.

Spc. Kory Chesher, an information technical specialist with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division was handed the keys to a brand new 2010 Shelby GT 500 Mustang at a local dealership in Clarksville.

Chesher won his high-powered wheels while deployed in Iraq, by writing a 250 word essay and submitting a photograph of himself in front of a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle with a faux Mustang hood ornament fashioned out of tin-foil.

Out of more than 9,000 contestants, Chesher's essay and photo were voted as the best by thousands out car enthusiasts on the world-wide web.

"I wrote a story about the first time I ever saw a Mustang when I was a little kid and how the car became an obsession in my life today," said Chesher. "It's literally a dream come true," he said.

"When I was five or six I was with my dad in Louisville, Ky. and when we came to a stop light, and across the intersection I saw my first Mustang," he said. "It was really shiny and pretty and I still remember what it was," he said. "It was a black 1968 Mustang fastback. The memory of that car is everything that I'm passionate about today," he said.

Chesher is now the envy of his unit as his friends and co-workers insist on "test driving" his new wheels for him.

"If it were me, I'd sell it," said Spc. John Bentley, HHC 1st BCT. "Although I would have to drive it first," he said. "Fast."

Chesher beams when he talks about his new "baby" and sounds eerily familiar to an owner's manual as he describes the blue muscle car with racing stripes.

"It has an extremely powerful 5.4 liter super-charged V-8 engine that boasts 540 horsepower. It has a 4-valve double overhead cam with a Whipple roots type supercharger," he said with a grin. "And yes it's fully insured!"

For now, Chesher just can't wait to hit the road.

"I don't even want to be at work right now, I want to go driving," he said.

"You cant win if you don't try."

Associated Images

Control Panel