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    The Lookout

    Remote-control truck gift saves soldiers’ lives

    In 2007, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Fessenden received a gift from his brother Ernie, back home in Rochester, Minnesota: a radio-controlled model truck with a wireless video camera.

    Last week, says Fessenden, who's now stationed in Afghanistan after doing tours in Iraq, the gift came in handy. It saved the lives of six of his comrades, he told ABC News.

    Fessenden used the toy truck to run ahead of him and his fellow soldiers to scout for roadside bombs when they were on patrol. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have been a major source of U.S. casualties in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

    Fessenden said that last week he had loaned the truck to a group of six soldiers who were going out on a patrol. At one point, it got tangled in a trip wire, setting off a bomb. The soldiers, in a Humvee behind the remote-controlled truck, were unhurt. Had it not been for that model truck, it would have been the real one--the Humvee--that set off the explosive, likely meaning the soldiers would have been killed.

    Ernie Fessenden got the idea for the gift after his brother told him that the army had little ability to check for IEDs. Ernie said the total cost was about $500. He added that he now plans to send Chris a replacement truck, through a non-profit group that he created.

    And he's understandably elated that his gift helped save lives.

    "I got an email from [Chris] that said, 'Hey, man, I'm sorry, but the truck is gone,'" Ernie told ABC. "The neat thing is that the guys in the Humvee were all right."

    Kevin Guy, a hobby shop owner who helped Ernie rig the truck with the camera, summed up what it meant to hear about how valuable it had been.

    "That's just unreal," said Guy. "That's six mothers that six guys are going home to."

     

    2,021 comments

    • Mikki Fessenden  •  9 mths ago
      Christoher fessendens my Dad :)
    • Pam  •  9 mths ago
      That is wonderful. Too bad there are not more of these trucks sent over seas to help out our soldiers. Thank heavens that this one worked to save lives.
    • Mike Phillips  •  9 mths ago
      Top Of List
    • 420  •  9 mths ago
      I think they need to send the creeps on Death row to go out ahead of the troops tripping the snags :-)
      • Mike 9 mths ago
        Sure would save the US TONS Of Money!
      • Barbara 9 mths ago
        Just like the movie " The Dirty Dozen" that was great....
      • Porter 9 mths ago
        Great idea! But don't limit it to death row inmates....let's give the child molesters an equal opportunity... Phillip Garrido goes first...followed by his wife....
    • Fooki  •  9 mths ago
      Now just rig the suckers with our own explosives and send them into the enemies camps and caves.
      • dgstal 9 mths ago
        Then we would have to listen to the enemy we are attempting to win hearts and minds of protesting about the inhumanity of explosives on a toy truck, heck, just blow the crud out of them!
      • Bret 9 mths ago
        Yeah No Shit! Give me five. Slap!
      • coolguy 9 mths ago
        That would be an RC-XD from Black Ops :)
    • Scott & Emily R  •  9 mths ago
      Would be nice to know the name of the non-profit so I could send them money
      • Tex 9 mths ago
        http://www.fuelmybrain.org/index.html is the non-profit
      • Paul 9 mths ago
        My paypal !@Me.biz and trust me, it (or nearly all) WILL go to where it is most (urgently) needed
      • OttoS 9 mths ago
        www.everythinghobby.com - 1306 7th St NW # 1, Rochester - (507) 285-1166
        might be the place. I just look up hobby shops in Rochester
    • bigpieceofchicken  •  9 mths ago
      With the current electronic and battery technology The U.S. army should have thousands of these. You can get incredible speeds up to 70mph and long run times. Unfortunally if we let a politian get involved the cost will go from a couple hundred each to a couple thousand.
      • Donald 9 mths ago
        or worse, a couple of million
      • Derpityderp 9 mths ago
        Not to mention, with politicians, we would be lucky to have it in production by 2020.
      • Tom E 9 mths ago
        A couple of thousand....more like a couple of billion!
        They have to make sure they can make all their croonies richer on a project like that.
    • roadrunner  •  9 mths ago
      How pathetic that the US Govt has to spend millions and years of "research" to come up with solutions that aren't near as effective as the home made varieties some of the soldiers come up with. This is ingenious yet so simple. Aahhh that's the problem, it's simple and cheap; no way govt would go for that!!
      • Buff 9 mths ago
        What a sad statement to make.
        The thing that makes it even more dissapointing to read, is it is so true!!!
      • the repairman 9 mths ago
        Try looking at some of the solutions some guys made to war time problems in World War two. Got things done, cheaper and faster than all those engineers at the War Department.
    • Toad ala mode  •  9 mths ago
      Cool, Thanks for serving guys!!! Glad you will be home safe soon!!!
    • William G  •  9 mths ago
      Good idea, but the Army should be paying for these things.
    • Matt F  •  9 mths ago
      Tell me there is no money to be saved in the US government when a hobby shop owner can rig up a useful scouting tool for $500.
    • Edgar  •  9 mths ago
      now that's cool man. lets get more of them out there. and save more soldiers lives. God Bless Them.
    • Cad Man  •  9 mths ago
      It's amazing how the simplest things (RC Truck wih a camera) can make the Biggest differences...
    • RC  •  9 mths ago
      Excellent story. Hope they all stay safe.
    • charlene  •  9 mths ago
      I told my son about this story, he didn't say much at the time but came back later with all his remote control cars and trucks. He said "Here, these should help, my friends have lots too that they don't really play with". Of course I had to cry.
      It would be wonderful if we had an address, name, website or something for Americans to send donations to.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  9 mths ago
      This is truly a case of David and Goliath. . . .but what can we do about it when, as someone above mentioned, the enemy has also read this and is ready for r.control toys the next time. Most of these stories only painfully remind us that troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Irag, is LONG overdue. . . .the DOD is not going to spend any more money in this already gazillion dollar war. . . BRING THE TROOPS HOME. . . .THAT WILL SOLVE THE WHOLE PROBLEM.
    • Aminal  •  9 mths ago
      Give every soldier out there some of these, Never leave the Base, just send in the toy, then the Drones. Nothing in the R.O.E. that says we can't play with our toys.
    • guitarzan  •  9 mths ago
      Awesome! Hard to believe the greatest army in the world cant do more for the soldiers. Just think, a TOY saved the lives of 6 soldiers for $500 and our government will spend $2000 for a freakin hammer! INFUCKINCREDIBLE!
    • Mrs. J  •  9 mths ago
      And you would think that something like this toy truck could not have been invented by our multi trillion dollar military with its industrial geniuses??? How many lives would this have saved!! Wow, what a pity.
    • Carmen  •  9 mths ago
      Here's the name of the hobby shop and it's owner--was in an additional article that had a link in the original story--go for it, folks. I'm sure they would be more than happy to accept the donations for more little trucks!!!

      Kevin Guy, the owner of the Everything Hobby in Rochester--probably New York--
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