How are you celebrating this Veterans Day? Maybe you’re remembering loved ones who fought, or honoring the ones putting their lives on the line now. Across the country, there are dozens of organizations working to help veterans and their families.
This Veterans Day, KMOX spoke with Mick O'Halloran about the work Folds of Honor does for the families of veterans. O’Halloran is a retired Anheuser-Busch executive who now volunteers with the organization. He explained what the organization does — and how it got started.
“Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, United States Air Force Reserve, was a National Guard F-16 pilot returning from one of his deployments overseas, and he was on an aircraft that was escorting the remains of a fallen warrior — and it touched him,” O’Halloran explained. “The plane commander explained what was taking place, and that if people had to hold in their seats until the proper exit was carried out.”
At that moment, Rooney realized he wanted to do something for those who had paid the ultimate price for serving their country, and create a long-lasting legacy for them. So he began fundraising to provide for the families of fallen soldiers.
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“It's been created into something so special, and there are scholarships now made available to the family members, spouses of the fallen warriors or wounded warriors,” O’Halloran said. “And we have had great success throughout the year since its inception in 2007. There have been 44,000 scholarships awarded throughout the country.”
People who want to help support the organization can head to their website and look through the different ways to volunteer and get involved in the St. Louis chapter of the organization.
“There are chapters throughout the country and the money goes towards the local community,” O’Halloran said. “And we realize how important that is that we can feel as if we're contributing directly to our neighborhoods or our communities or those that have served within them.”
Hear more about Folds of Honor and how you can help:
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