Mark to be honored Memorial Day Weekend 2012 - Manteca, CA

We are grateful to the Place of Refuge Church and the Welcome Home Heroes Foundation for the excellent celebrations they put on each year to honor our heroes. This is the biggest Memorial Day celebration on the west coast and they want to dedicate this year's event to Mark.

The irony is they first decided they wanted to honor Mark, and then found out he served as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that area. So we look forward to meeting some of the people Mark served with and among when we visit.

The founder of this event is a Vietnam veteran and was not welcomed home from war. He vowed to not let that happen again. This church and organization are very patriotic and sponsor events throughout the year.

Mark's name and picture will be added to the below memorial wall, on panel 11. As you can see, they don't half-way do anything.

Click HERE to go to the official web site for the event.

This past weekend was a special event. They welcomed Marine Lance Cpl. Ronnie Porta. Ronnie was serving in Iraq with Marine Lance Corporal Charles Palmer, of Manteca, CA, when their vehicle was attacked by an IED and Charles was killed. Ronnie was severely burned from the explosion in 2007. The good folks of the Manteca area welcomed him to town last Saturday, along with other veterans and the Patriot Guard Riders.

These are two really good articles on Ronnie and this event:

Manteca Bulletin

ABC News 10

You will want to read more about this Marine. The picture below was taken as he arrived in Manteca on January 14. We salute you, Ronnie Porta. Thank you for serving.

Video of our little brother

Here's a short picture collection of Mark. The accompanying song by Greenday reminds me of Mark for two reasons:

1. He did have the time of his life here on earth. You can tell by many of the pictures.
2. This same song was used for a Seinfeld montage when the show ended. Mark could quote any line from Seinfeld verbatim. We always enjoyed this.

Well done Mark. We will never forget you and we hope your life and example continue to inspire others to be better, and work harder.

Cory Whitsett Wins Patriot All-America Golf Tournament

University of Alabama Sophomore Cory Whitsett won the inaugural Patriot All-America Tournament in Phoenix on Dec. 30, 2011. Each player carried a bag with a fallen heroes name from the area they are from or attend school. Cory's bag had Mark's name on it.

We have heard from Cory's coach, Jay Seawell, and his dad. They expressed their appreciation for Mark's service and sacrifice. Coach Seawell told us what an excellent person and student Cory is. We appreciate him representing Mark and the University of Alabama so well.

Not only was Mark represented, but many fallen heroes - each represented by a commemorative PING bag bearing their name. The bags will be auctioned off to benefit the families of fallen heroes thru Folds of Honor.

We look forward to meeting Cory and hopefully getting a picture of the bag with Mark's name.

You can read more about this tournament and Folds of Honor by clicking HERE.

And HERE is an article on the Patriot All-America site.

Dogs at Fire Base Cobra

During Mark's time in Afghanistan, we saw many pics of dogs that he and many of his teammates loved.

The pictures below are from one of Mark's teammates, Ben King. These puppies were born in an abandoned ammo bunker on July 4, 2010. Their mother is Deuce and father is Eddie, who is a legend at Cobra. We have heard many stories about Eddie--how he was a ladies man, to going out on combat operations, to being involved in several fire fights while outside the base with the team. You can learn more about Eddie from a previous post by clicking HERE.

Mark quickly took to this dog and named her Dixie.

Below are Dixie and Satchel. From what we understand, Mark, and teammate Josh Christy, planned to do everything they could to bring them back to the states and give them a decent life. Josh remained at Cobra several months after Mark, so he became very close with these dogs, especially the one he adopted, Satchel. The team stepped up after Mark's death and took care of Dixie. Josh raised money and brought both dogs home earlier this year.

If anyone has updates on these dogs, please let us know. We know they both made it to the states and are told that Satchel is with Josh in CA, and Dixie is with teammate Danny Tanner in FL. Danny is working to get us 'the rest of the story' soon.

We have heard other stories of families of the fallen getting their son's dog brought back from their deployed areas. It's expensive and we think it almost takes an act of congress. These dogs bring much comfort and entertainment to the men and women deployed and to their families at home.

"3 Weeks in Haiti" dedicated to Mark

Our friend Mike, (aka Michael Andrew) recently published his book "3 Weeks in Haiti" as an eBook. Just days following the incredible earthquake in Haiti in early 2010, Mike took it upon himself to find his way there with a specific mission to locate and help orphanages. He did this willingly and with his own money.

It's an incredible story of persistence because of the many obstacles he had to overcome just getting there, finding places to stay, food to eat, and protecting his life.

He ends up feeling a huge sense of satisfaction for the work he did and the many children he helped, as well as the friendships he created.

At a crucial point in the book, Mike was to meet up with the 82nd Airborne in a coordinated effort to deliver aid. He needed them because they offered security from gangs and rioters. All he had were coordinates that wouldn't translate into any software he had. After exhausting all resources he knew, Mark popped into his head and he knew if anyone could help him, Mark could. Mark's training prepared him to understand this type of information. He called Mark, who was stationed in NC (before being deployed), gave him the coordinates, and Mark gave him the location he needed. This allowed Mike to connect with the 82nd and distribute food more safely and effectively.

Mike dedicates his book to Mark, which can be read in the opening pages. I have personally read this book and found it fascinating. It's well worth the read and I recommend it. It's about selflessness, charity, commitment, and most of all persistence. I think these are some of the qualities Mark possessed and that he and his teammates needed to be successful as a team, and on the battlefield.

Mike actually went back to Haiti and was there when Mark was KIA in Afghanistan last year. He made it back the day before the funeral.

You can learn more about this book and/or purchase by clicking HERE.

Dedication at the beginning of the book.