A parent wants their child to exceed the parent in life. I felt I'd succeeded on October 12 at the annual banquet of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation , the "the Nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarship to military children. Their funding is provided by private supporters, including individuals, corporations, and other nonprofit foundations. The organization's mission is to "Honor Marines by Educating Their Children." "
My son Jason, and I, were invited as speakers about what the mission and generosity of the scholarships mean to us and to all the other Marines and their children among the 2300 awarded each year. I'm a pretty good and rousing speaker. Jason from his heart thanked the Foundation and me for the lessons of honor, commitment, courage instilled in him, and the importance of passing it on. Jason 's speech was better than mine. I felt I'd succeeded in his upbringing, and he'd exceeded me.
One of the strong supporters of the Foundation is David McCallum, star of Man From Uncle, NCIS, and a long career of performances. He is a very kind and pleasant man. In his speech he said the proudest moment of his life was becoming a US citizen. His lovely and gracious wife's father served in the Marine Corps at Iwo Jima and her brother lost his life in Vietnam.
Please reach in your pocket or ask your employer to contribute to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. The Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful, also applies to always being faithful to passing it on to the next generations to keep America strong.
