Remember Aaron, the Marine who wrecked his 120GB iPod Classic in Afghanistan by accidentally letting it get run over by a Humvee, then slamming it in a Humvee door?

Aaron told us his story to express his amazement that even though the screen was cracked, the iPod still worked. But he got more than he bargained for when a Colorado Apple Store manager read about his plight and sent him a new iPod Classic — this one with 40 gigs of more memory. The manager writes:

My store manager [redacted] and I were moved by an article posted recently on the Consumerist.com website entitled “Marine Declares War On iPod, Which Lives To Tell The Tale” and penned by Phil Villarreal, dated Wed. Oct. 14th 2009. Original posting here.

The article describes how a Marine named “Aaron” stationed in Afghanistan had virtually destroyed his iPod in the line of duty, and was pleasantly surprised by it’s continued operation. We’d like to honor Aaron’s declaration of support for Apple, as well as his service to his country and send Aaron a new 160gb iPod Classic! I am hoping that you or Mr. Villarreal can assist us in this task.

If at all possible, please provide Aaron’s mailing address overseas and we will send the device asap. We certainly will keep his personal information confidential. We could also obtain his address via marinefinder.com if we were to obtain his full name (First, middle and last). However, you are not able to provide this info, may I ask if you have any suggestions on next steps for us?

We forwarded the email to Aaron, who wrote back a few days later to say his new iPod has reached his parents’ home. Maybe it’s best that the new iPod stays away from Humvees.

(Photo: ColumbusCameraOp)

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