4 ORGANIZATIONS HONORING A LEGACY OF SERVICE THIS MEMORIAL DAY, AND ALL YEAR
Memorial Day is a day to remember the fallen and continue their legacy. What is legacy? Legacy is the story that continues after you are gone. Some servicemembers' families ensure the story of their loved one doesn’t end with their death and have worked to build organizations that honor and support their service while also supporting the lives of others. Below, we are sharing four remarkable organizations that family members, spouses, and siblings have created to honor their loved ones and help others.
Travis Manion Foundation (TMF)
1st Lt Travis Manion died on April 29, 2007, when his team was ambushed while searching a suspected insurgent house in the Al Anbar province. Before he left for Iraq, he told his sister, Ryan, “If not me…then who?” Those words stuck with his sister after his death and created a desire to honor her brother and share his legacy.
Ryan helped create the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF). TMF strives to unite and strengthen communities by training, developing, and highlighting the role models who lead them. Through mentorship programs and events, TMF is working to create a nation of purpose-driven individuals.
The Unquiet Professional
Staff Sergeant Michael H. Simpson died on May 1, 2013, five days after sustaining injuries from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Michael was known as “the unquiet professional.” While many members from the community are low-key about obtaining the Green Beret status, he proudly announced his Special Forces title whenever he could.
Kirsta Simpson, his wife, was in complete awe of the support she received from the military community after the tragic loss of her husband. Krista, along with her close friend Andrea Rinald, decided to do something. Together, they founded The Unquiet Professional.
The organization works to honor Soldiers who gave their final sacrifice to support their families, and empowers Veterans and their families to continue fighting. Through their awareness initiatives, they strive to educate, advocate, prepare for the unexpected, and alleviate immediate needs.
Major Luc Gruenther Legacy Foundation
Major Luc Gruenther died on January 28, 2013. He was on a training mission over the Adriatic Ocean in Italy. He was forced to eject from his F-16 and did not survive the ejection.
Shortly after his death, a Live Like Luc social media page was created to remember both the passion and zest for life he had. Through that movement, a scholarship program was built. Luc’s brother, Alex Gruenther, and wife, Cassy Gruenther, worked together to create the Major Luc Gruenther Legacy Foundation.
The goal of the foundation is to bestow scholarships to Americans for the advancement of educational goals and self-development, thereby strengthening and benefiting the community at large.
Folds of Honor
Folds of Honor did not begin because a family member wanted to remember the legacy of their service member, but instead began because of Lt Col Dan Rooney’s flight home from his second tour in Iraq.
As his flight landed, the pilot announced that they carried the remains of Corporal Brock Bucklin on board. Lt Col Rooney watched as Corporal Bucklin’s twin brother walked somberly alongside the flag-covered casket to meet his family on the tarmac. Among them was the deceased Corporal’s young son, Jacob.
Since that night, Lt Col Rooney has committed his life to rallying patriotic Americans and meeting sacrifice with hope through Folds of Honor. Since 2007, they have provided nearly 62,000 life-changing scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen or disabled military.
Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day
Even though servicemembers have died defending our country it doesn’t mean their story has ended. Servicemembers and their sacrifice are remembered through a variety of ways by family and friends who continue to share their stories. And even strangers can remember their service as many visit gravesites across the country to say the names of Veterans, remembering their sacrifice during Memorial Day weekend. Their legacy of service lives on after their death.
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