For a Marine who has served three combat tours in Iraq, how can he truly feel at home after combat if his house is literally crumbling around him?
Jason is a Marine who has given everything his country has asked. He enlisted after 9/11, fighting in some of the bloodiest battles of the Iraqi War including the Battles of Nasiriyah and Fallujah. He was there to protect the peace when Iraq had its first ever democratic election, and he deployed for Hurricane Katrina when his countrymen were flooded and in need.
Jason’s story doesn’t end there. His wife Genella used to be a college professor, but she suffered major complications after her last pregnancy requiring 42 surgeries. Now with Crohn’s Disease, she has to eat out of a gastric feeding tube. Her retirement savings were quickly eaten up by medical bills, and the loss of income financially squeezed the family.
Jason earns a modest military income, however, all too often, Marines like Jason give up their futures to keep us safe and free. While Jason was busy being deployed, his peers were gaining skills for civilian life which allowed them to out-compete him for most jobs. With the wars of the past 13 years in Iraq and Afghanistan coming to a close, Jason and his family are an economic casualty in the transition to peace.
At some point, ‘thank you for your service’ is just not enough. Instead of thanking him, we need to do something tangible. Get personally involved. We need to make our ‘thank you’ action-oriented. Learn more about Jason and his family and how you can help on BarnRaisings. We need to raise $8,500 by August 1st, so please donate today!
