14-05-2025
Fallen military heroes' children gifted cars in Owensboro
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — On Tuesday, two young minds in Owensboro received the surprise of a lifetime: brand new cars. It's in honor of the sacrifice their families made for our ahead of Memorial Day, two gold star students are driving forward with something their late fathers would have wanted for them safety, freedom and stability.
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Micaela Trimble and Parker Madden were honored with new payment-free vehicles, thanks to Freedom Alliance and U.S. Bank's Driven to Serve program.
Trimble is a Belmont University graduate working in event planning.
'I feel like [my dad] is watching over me to be able to be the one to get selected,' says Trimble. ''I was sharing a car with my sister, so I was basically begging to use her car whenever she didn't need it.'
Madden will be a sophomore at Western Kentucky University this fall. With no team bus, he says he often takes his mothers car to transport to lacrosse competitions out-of-state.
'When I was driving down for my freshman year, pieces of my car were flying off the highway,' says Madden.
Their fathers made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan: their life. Both were living without their father by the time they were 5-years-old. Pair that with being apart of Freedom Alliance's scholarship program and officials say they've more than earned these stylish wheels.
Madden was gifted a 2025 Chevy Equinox. Trimble was gifted a 2025 Buick Encore GX.
'Providing safe, reliable transportation is something their dads would be doing for them if they were here. So, we sort of consider it part of our responsibility as their fellow Americans to help them take care of their kids,' says Tom Kilgannon, the President of Freedom Alliance.
Trimble's father, Private First Class Chad Trimble, died in May 2008. He was just 2 months into his deployment.
Parker Madden's father U.S. Army Specialist Russell Madden was killed in 2010 when a rocket propelled grenade attacked his convoy.
Madden says his first pit stop in his new car will be special. He'll go for a drive to Memorial Parkway.
'There's a road back home dedicated to my dad. It has his name on it. So, I would definitely take the car to that road first,' says Madden.
'I'd love to take my mom, my sister and my dog to the lake,' says Trimble.
They say its something they'll remember forever, just like their fathers' legacies.
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