Two Frenchmen Plan to Drive a JK Jeep Wrangler to All 50 States to Share Their Positive Message and Pay Tribute to the Victims of the Pulse Nightclub Tragedy
Jeep vehicles have their roots in wartime, but two Frenchmen are using a Jeep Wrangler to spread a peaceful message.
When the terrorist attack on Paris’s Bataclan Theatre occurred in November 2015, hundreds of people lost friends and loved ones. Frenchmen Manuel Frederic and Alex Tisba were among those who personally grieved the loss of some of the 90 lives taken that day. That gave them a sense of empathy for those affected by another tragedy.
According to ABC News, “The pair decided to visit the U.S. and travel across the country in a Jeep, armed with a message of peace and unity, in honor of the 49 people murdered by gunman Omar Mateen at the LGBT nightclub.”
The pair has taken the JK to several cities across the U.S. They visited the LGBT pride parade in Tampa. Of course, they’ve driven the Wrangler Unlimited to Orlando, too. There, they put the initials of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims on their rig. Survivors of the massacre decorated the Jeep with their signatures, and friends and family members added their handprints to the exterior.
Frederic and Tisba even went to Washington D.C. to get more signatures – this time, they came from Capitol Hill lawmakers. They plan on eventually getting Barack Obama to sign the JK as well, since he was in office when the Pulse shooting happened.
In total, the two Frenchman have traveled to 25 states in their peace offering off-roader. Their ultimate goal is to take it to all 50 states, then return the Jeep to Orlando so it can be used in a memorial to the Pulse tragedy.
Frederic told ABC affiliate WFTS in Tampa, “We’re just people, citizens of the world, and we should all be united as one. We started here because this is the United States. People from all over the world living together in peace — or should be living together peacefully — and that’s what we’re trying to reconnect here.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
