Joplin Tornado: Mother Asks God 'Why? as Son Sacrifices Life for Spouse
A mother, whose son sacrificed his own life to save his wife as their house was hit by the powerful Joplin tornado, has asked God, “Why him?”
Beth Lansaw has been left devastated as her son, Don Lansaw, 31, paid the ultimate price to save his wife in the Joplin tornado. Reports indicate that he threw his body over his wife as they sheltered themselves in the bathtub when the 200 mph tornado tore up their house in Joplin, Mo., four days ago.
Lansaw, sobbing outside her son’s flattened house told reporters, “I just don't understand why.”
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“Why him? And I won't know that until I'm there with him – there with our maker, to ask him why.”
Don Lansaw's wife, Bethany, 25, has told the heartbreaking story of how her husband Don bravely put himself between the destructive tornado and herself. She said, “He got on top of me to take the brunt of most of it … he’s my hero.”
She added, “The house was ripping apart, it all happened so fast. The pillows were flying off us, and the only thing I managed to do was keep one in front of my face.”
However, as the tornado passed and the storm died down in Joplin, the tragedy of the situation was soon made clear to her, as she noticed her husband had turned blue. He died soon after.
Speaking of her childhood sweetheart and husband of six years, Bethany testified to NBC News, “He just had so much love in his heart …People kept saying he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, but if I could have taken twice as much damage just to have him alive, I would have.
“He did what he could to protect his family.”
