Marine Memorial Scholarship Fund

[Charlie received this via email from Marine pal Owen West and thought it might be of interest to our dear readers.]

"The tribute of deeds has been paid in part; for the dead have them in deeds, and it remains only that their children should be maintained at the public charge until they are grown up: this is the solid prize with which, as with a garland, Athens crowns her sons living and dead."
- Thucydides, Pericles' Funeral Oration

For five years our military volunteers have shouldered the burden of war. What does the nation owe these men and women? Thucydides echoes the sentiment of our professional fighting class, especially those with families, when he invokes the national responsibility to those left behind. They carry the real weight. They are our collective charge.

Susanne and I have established a scholarship to fund the education of the children of our Marines and corpsmen. Founded in the memory of Majors Ray Mendoza and Doug Zembiec--athletes, warriors, and fathers both--the funds will flow directly into the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation's Patriot Campaign, with $20,000 scholarship bonds going directly to children who lost a parent to combat and the rest going to sons and daughters in Marine and Navy families with gross household incomes that average $40,000.

This is not a hard sell. Giving is a private matter and there are many worthy causes. For those who want to support our military, and who believe in the power of education and private funding, the following link will be worth your time.

http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=76615

Several military charities were recently exposed for flowing less than 50% of their donations. We have taken care of the expenses associated with this scholarship. Every dollar you give will go into the gift pool that directly funds the childrens' payments. Further, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation was recently awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=my.share&mgid=109651)