Honoring Our Fallen - CTA from One of Our Own

This is something nobody wants to write about, let alone share (why my eyes are swollen as I write this). Yet, I felt obligated to not only help honor the soldiers and their families, but the strength of one of our own to break his silence and ask for help.

He lost a lot of brothers on July 10th, so the MindTouch family said we would help share his 'Call To Action' how ever we could. Please read the incredible letter he wrote to us in this time of need...

Hey Team,

This is a hard thing for me to discuss with you guys/gals but here goes... 

On July 10th, Aircraft 000 of VMGR-452 'Yankees' out of Newburgh, New York crashed while conducting domestic training exercises. In total, the crash killed 16 service members including both Marines and Sailors. I'm not able to list out the names of those we lost, out of respect for the families, but I'm heartbroken by what happened.

If you've known me awhile, you know that I'm one of a handful of Veterans at MindTouch who served this nation. I served for 5 years in the USMC as an Airframes/Structural Mechanic on the KC-130J aircraft out of VMGR-352 at Miramar, deploying to Iraq in support of OIF. The Yankees were our sister training squadron and I know many Marines that are currently in service there. I can tell you that everyone there is just as heartbroken as I. This truly is the worst case scenario for any military family to have to endure. What's worse is that it caught us all completely off guard because 452 is a training squadron that doesn't deploy. The least likely of us to experience a tragedy like this.

The USMC hasn't lost a KC-130 aircraft since 2002 and when things like this happen, it hits us all hard. The KC-130 community in the USMC is small and close-knit family. We all know each other well, just like being a citizen in a small town. When one unit deploys overseas to conduct combat operations, we usually have one of our sister squadrons there to support the mission with us. We all ride together. 

What happened shows all of us the sacrifice that these men and women make on a daily basis, not just the combat deployed, but here on our own soil conducting domestic operations. I've created a GoFundMe campaign in their honor with a very modest goal of $1,000. I've been in communication with the FRO (Fleet Readiness Officer) of 452 to ensure that once this campaign reaches or surpasses it's goal, that the funds get distributed evenly among the families of these warriors. I hope it helps pay some of the funeral costs and every other expense they are sure to have.

You can find the Campaign  here  and if you have the means to do so, please donate what you can and as an additional step, please share this campaign across any/all social media channels you use to allow it to gain visibility.

https://www.gofundme.com/vmgr452-family-memorial-fund

Thanks for whatever help you can provide here, MindTouchers. Please pray for the families of these warriors. None of us can imagine what they're going through.

Regards,

Tom

All I can say after that is please support Tom's CTA to support the families of these fallen heroes by clicking the link above.

We love you Tom and promise to do everything we can in this time of sorrow.