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By Ryan Smithson
PGA TOUR Staff

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- At first glance, Amy Watkins Vazquez looks like a typical mother. In the TPC Sawgrass parking lot, a magnet on her car showcases her job as a person who can assist in preparing a mortgage.

It's the Purple Heart hanging from her neck that makes her different.

Amy Watkins Vazquez, whose son was killed in Fallujah, poses with Frank Lickliter.

Josh Watkins, her only child, was killed in Fallujah, Iraq on Oct. 21, 2006. Watkins, a 25-year-old corporal, was on routine patrol when a sniper shot him.

Watkins' body arrived at Dover Air Force Base a few days later. He was originally scheduled to come home on leave at the time of his death, but his mother says that her son volunteered to help restore order to the violent Iraqi province of Al Anbar.

To honor her son, Watkins Vazquez decided to try to establish a scholarship in his name at the University of North Florida, where her son attended for three years before joining the Marines. His mother made him promise to return to school, and Watkins had been salting away tuition money to keep his word.

Watkins Vazquez was telling her story to the Mortgage Bankers Association when she met the David Pillsbury, the President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties.

Pillsbury immediately pledged $10,000 of the PGA TOUR's money to help start the Marine Corporal Joshua Watkins Memorial Scholarship, and Watkins Vazquez has remained close to the TOUR ever since.

Watkins Vazquez spoke on Monday during an "America Supports You" event at TPC Sawgrass, which was aimed to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. During her speech, Watkins Vazquez shared a poem she had written to her son during his deployment.

"Honor our military, thank them, and shake their hand. They are all our heroes," Watkins Vazquez told the attendees, who were on hand to play in the "America Supports You" Charity Golf Tournament.

The golf was forgettable -- heavy rains washed away the round after a mere two holes -- but a live and silent auction raised tens of thousands for various charities that benefit six ASY military homefront groups that directly support U.S. troops and their families.

PGA TOUR player Frank Lickliter hosted the event, which has become a staple of Lickliter's ongoing work with the Wounded Warrior Project. Lickliter was continuously called upon to augment the auctions with promises of individual instruction, which he handled with his trademarked quiet humor.

The highlight of the event was the brief pre-auction speech given by Watkins Vazquez, who has worked with the PGA TOUR in recent months to raise money for various military causes.

Watkins Vazquez was introduced to the event's attendees by Pillsbury, who called Watkins Vazquez "wonderful example of a true patriot."

Watkins Vazquez told the story of her son to the dozens of attendees at the "America Supports You" Charity Golf Tournament, and by the time she finished, many people were openly crying.

It is something Watkins Vazquez is used to. She tells her story often, and is prepared to do so as many times as required to raise money.

Her son's image is seen every day by thousands of Jacksonville commuters on the I-295 interchange. A large billboard -- anonymously donated -- shows Corporal Watkins' solemn image, with the words "Home of the Brave" above his image and lifeline.

"[Josh] was a toe gunner attached to the 2nd Tank Battalion. For most of the time he was on a gun turret," Watkins Vazquez said. "Towards the end, he had just gotten promoted and was made a vehicle commander.

"He volunteered for his last mission. He was supposed to come home Oct. 30, and I couldn't understand why he was out on a mission. He volunteered to be one of five guys [that] would patrol the main highway in and out of Fallujah."

She vividly recalls one of their final conversations.

"Mom, I don't know what you see on TV over there, but we Marines know we have a job to do," Watkins told his mother. "We'd rather do it here than have anything ever touch American soil again."

On the Web: Wounded Warrior Project | On the Web: Birdies for the Brave

On the Web: Homes for Our Troops | On the Web: Special Operations Warrior Foundation