The Ghost Camaro Got Humanitarian Aid Into A War Zone When The United Nations Could Not

A modified 1979 Chevy Camaro that looks for illustration it came consecutive retired of "Mad Max" is astir apt nan past conveyance you'd expect to present humanitarian assistance to a warfare zone. Yet, that's precisely what Helge Meyer did pinch his Camaro during nan Bosnian War. The communicative circles nan net beautiful regularly, but Regular Car Reviews conscionable released an "RCR Stories" video that tells it well, pinch Meyer astatine nan halfway of it all, and it's worthy each re-telling. 

Meyer was a bona fide badass moreover earlier nan Camaro came along. He'd served successful nan Danish Special Forces, trained alongside U.S. Army Green Berets, and served successful Operation Desert Storm successful Kuwait. "Since 1972, I person besides been training counter-terrorism and typical forces soldiers successful nan shape of a 'psychological 100 km march' on nan seashore of Denmark," Meyer says connected his website. He was keenly alert of really to enactment cool nether unit while being changeable at.

The Bosnian War was a humanitarian crisis, pinch 3 sides fighting for powerfulness and civilians paying nan price. The United Nations tried to nonstop aid, but attacks and raids were common, preventing nan trucks from getting through. Meyer saw nan request and had an idea. He bought a 1979 Camaro from an American worker astatine the Rhein-Main Air Base adjacent Frankfurt, Germany. Then, he sewage soldiers astatine that aforesaid guidelines to thief him modify nan Camaro to prep it for vulnerable humanitarian assistance missions, utilizing nan Camaro's velocity and maneuverability to win wherever nan U.N. trucks had failed.

While subject trucks are reliable and tin transportation a ample magnitude of cargo, they are ample and slow, making them easy targets. Meyer's thought was to make nan Camaro nan nonstop opposite. Unofficially, of course, nan U.S. Air Force helped him add armor plating, including underbody protection, Kevlar panels successful nan doors, and a heavy expanse of alloy to switch nan backmost window. The tires sewage foam to move them into run flats. An tremendous push barroom was mounted connected nan beforehand to smash done obstructions. 

The weight of these modifications, arsenic good arsenic up to 882 pounds of cargo, slowed nan Camaro down a bit, truthful nan motor was tuned up to nutrient 220 horsepower. That fig doubled to 440 erstwhile Meyer activated nan nitrous system, enabling him to accelerate to 125 mph successful conscionable 13 seconds. While not capable to outrun a bullet, it's faster than astir ground-based subject vehicles, and nary uncertainty sewage Meyer retired of galore sticky situations.

The champion measurement to complete these deliveries and enactment alive, however, was to debar a conflict successful nan first place. To make it into a Ghost, nan Air Force gave nan Camaro a overgarment of its champion craft matte achromatic paint, reducing its visibility not only to nan eye, but besides to thermal imaging and radar. They besides installed infrared lights and thermal imaging systems for Meyer to use, arsenic good arsenic a GPS. We each person GPS units successful our cars these days, but they were still uncommon and rather costly successful nan 1990s. The last spot of information cogwheel was a Kevlar vest and helmet for Meyer's protection — a helmet ended up taking a slug for him, redeeming his life.

Despite its extended modifications, nan Ghost Camaro's typical instrumentality included nary weapons of immoderate kind. Meyer considered his Bible a weapon, which is why he carried nary others, contempt his extended subject training. Meyer explains connected his website:

During a two-hour speech astatine nan Rhein-Main AIR BASE religion for prime officers and specialists, I said astir my years of acquisition gained connected deployments. The truth that I was speaking successful beforehand of truthful galore group made maine a small nervous. I besides felt that my position hadn't travel crossed well. So I ended my reside pinch nan words: "If God had a Rambo connected Earth, I could beryllium him." I person nan training to beryllium Rambo, having served arsenic a combat diver, paratrooper, successful nan 10th Special Forces, and successful nan Long-Range Patrol (Jaegerkorps). But alternatively of Rambo's weapons, my limb was and is nan Bible.

Technically, Meyer worked alone, but he received a batch of support down nan scenes. Soldiers astatine Rhein-Main Air Base raised much than $12,000 to outfit nan Camaro and donate medicine, clothes, diapers, and toys. Even Lego (which shares its Danish-ness pinch Meyer) even donated immoderate toys to nan origin itself. 

Meyer insisted connected placing these supplies straight into nan hands of those who needed them alternatively than trusting different organizations to do so. He didn't attraction what broadside they were connected aliases whether they shared his beliefs. He helped immoderate civilians who needed it, and complete nan people of nan war, he made complete 100 runs into Bosnia. 

Today, Meyer still owns nan Ghost Camaro, though it's a spot little ghostly with a alteration successful nan paint. It's now agleam orangish alternatively of nan subject stealth material. He's written a book astir his communicative that's sadly not disposable successful English, but our readers appropriately suggested this arsenic an automotive communicative that would make a awesome movie – and we agree. He has signed a movie statement pinch a Beverly Hills lawyer, but we don't cognize if location has been immoderate further progress. I dream location has been, because this communicative has each nan makings of a awesome movie, it really happened, and this existent life action leader is still live to show nan tale.