Wings for Our Troops - in loving Memory of CPL Chad S Wade

This foundation is being created in loving Memory of CPL Chad S Wade USMC (my son) KIA in Afghanistan on December 1, 2010.  This idea for this foundation actually started just as he was preparing to deploy to Iraq in 2009 when I learned for the first time that our Marines had to pay their own way home before and after deployments.  It bothered me so much that I knew then I had to do something, but I didn't really know what.  When we knew one of his buddies was struggling to get home due to finances we offered to pay his way and he absolutely would not accept.  He felt it would be a handout and he wasn't having it.  He, as most if not all of them are, was too proud to accept.  Our Chad was fortunate to have parents blessed enough to be able to help him get home.  When he came home for pre-deployment leave before Afghanistan I took off 9 days for vacation so I could be available to spend every moment with him that he was here.  It was absolutely the most amazing time and he spent more time at home with us than with his friends which was amazing all in itself (as most parents understand).  I never dreamed that would be the last time I would see my only child alive, but it was.  It was at that moment that my husband and I began to think about this foundation again and I told him that I felt that his band of brothers (while they really helped each other in the field) were really going to need their visits back home more than ever now.  They just experienced the worse situation while in combat a Marine can experience.  They need to get home to their families and start truly healing.  This is our mission and our goal with this foundation.  If you think about all the companies that have frequent flyer miles that they may not possibly be able to use and the countless people with miles or points that they may not be able to use, but could donate towards a Marine to get them home. Our hope is that while we are focused on the Marine Corps right now (just to get things kicked off) we want all branches of our military to benefit from this foundation.  We have our advisory committee in place and ready to get our account started and we already have some amazing support.  You can check out Daisy and Elm for Friday's Jewelry and check our her blog and jewelry.  She will be donating money for military jewelry sold directly to our foundation. She is an amazing person and has a huge heart.  Her husband is currently deployed to Iraq and she is doing more than her part to support our troops.  We have several other folks who have already started reaching out to help support this foundation.  We will have a website at some point set up so we can take donations online.  Thank you all in advance for your support and I look forward to posting updates on who we've been able to help through your support!

CPL Chad S Wade USMC