$65 million.
That’s the amount of the largest gift received by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in its 60-year history. It comes from Fred Smith, a Marine Corps veteran and founder and chairman of FedEx.
“It’s an extraordinary and transformative gift in every way,” said Retired Marine Lt. Col. Ted Probert is the current president and CEO of the MCSF.
The gift coincides with the release of Devotion, a film produced by sisters Molly and Rachel Smith. The Smiths s run Black Label Media, which is responsible for such films as Blind Side and Lala Land.
Devotion details the service of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in Naval history, and Tom Hudner his fellow fighter pilot and friend. Their heroic sacrifices during the Korean War would ultimately make them the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen.
Brown grew up as the son of a sharecropper in Mississippi who attended Ohio State University and became a Naval aviator. Hudner came from a completely different background, growing up in Massachusetts, attending Andover Academy and the Naval Academy.
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“This bond develops between Jesse and Tom Hudner and as they go off to support the Korean War,” Probert said.
Brown’s wife asked Hudner to keep an eye on him while they were overseas. While supporting Marines during the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, their plane was shot down 17 miles from the demilitarized zone.
“Tom can see that his wingman, Jesse Brown, is trapped in this aircraft and can’t get out, so he purposely crashes his plane so he can extricate his wingman,” explained Probert. “He’s thinking to himself, I’m going to be court-martialed for this, but that’s my wingman.”
The court martial never happened. Instead, Hudner received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his action. Probert said the friendship between the two families continues to the present day.
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Probert said the nonprofit has known about the gift for a year but could not say anything about it until the film was released. He said Smith not only wanted to increase the number of scholarships offered by MCSF, but is passionate about honoring the lives and legacy of Brown Hudner.
The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than 50,000 scholarships valued at nearly $185 million since it was founded in 1962 and is the nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships for military children.
MCSF will use $33 million to fund additional scholarships, Probert said. The remainder has been used to form the Brown Hudner Navy Scholarship Foundation, which will award scholarships to the children of Navy personnel studying science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and health sciences.
The MCSF awards about 2,600 scholarships annually but estimates there are more than 24,000 eligible children of Marines nationwide, said Probert. For the next academic year alone, Smith’s gift will cover the costs of more than 100 additional scholarships with a long-term outlook of covering the costs of thousands.
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Probert said MCSF’s scholarship recipients are top-tier scholars, representing every state in the country with 90% graduating. Notably, 40% of recipients are first-generation college students and 45% pursue STEM degrees. Their recipients also sport an average GPA of 3.43, compared to 3.15 nationally. And in 2022, there is a combined 29,000 years of military service that have been honored by MCSF. All qualified applicants that meet MCSF’s eligibility requirements receive a scholarship to further support their education.
“Our family is proud to support the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and the great work they are doing to make the dreams of military children a reality through higher education. The MCSF is an outstanding steward to manage the Brown Hudner Navy Scholarship Foundation,” said Fred Smith. “As a Marine Corps veteran, I know the sacrifices that are made daily by hard-working military families to provide for their children.”
For more information about the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.