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Courtesy of Hope For The Warriors
Photo courtesy of Matt DiBenedetto Racing
Photo courtesy of Teresa Rutledge
By Editor Becky Watts
CHARLOTTE N.C. - NASCAR racing had a patriotic theme for Memorial Day weekend this year. Hope For The Warriors teamed up with several NASCAR teams and to remember fallen service members and their families during the Coca Cola 600. Hope For The Warriors wanted to show that the loved ones of Gold Star Families are still remembered. Among those service members who were honored that weekend was Pike County’s own fallen Marine LCpl Jeffrey Walker.
LCpl Walker was honored by Matt DiBenedetto Racing with a beautiful memorial hood on the #83 car and LCpl Walker’s name on the car during the Coca Cola 600. The Walker family along with several other families were brought to Charlotte, North Carolina for the weekend by Hope For The Warriors.
LCpl Walker died in Iraq on May 14, 2007 during his second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jeffrey’s Mom, Teresa Rutledge, Jeffrey’s son, Conner, and Conner’s Mom, Dana Young, went to North Carolina for the race.
A Weekend of Remembrance
Family members attended a private dinner on Saturday night before they went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the race on Sunday morning. Robin Kelleher, Co-Founder of Hope For The Warriors told Pike County Times that there were several Gold Star Families from all over the country who came together the night before the race and allowing them to share their experiences with each other along with how they have moved on with grace as well as what they have done to make sure that their family members are always remembered.
“To see other people who have experienced what you have and see them still going on—getting up in the morning and going through another day—gives you hope and that is what Hope For The Warriors is all about,” Robin said.
Jeffrey’s family met with Matt DiBenedetto on race day to take pictures and see the car that memorialized Jeffrey in the race. Jeffrey’s son Conner wrote his name on the front fender of the #83 car and was even shown on the FOX broadcast of the Coca Cola 600 on live TV.
Hope For The Warriors posted photos on Facebook from the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina with a note that said, “It's a special person who completes their mission in life at such an early age. Today we honor those lives ... With family and friends…”
What Is Hope For The Warriors?
Hope For The Warriors is an organization that was founded to take care of service members and their families. Robin Kelleher, Co-Founder of Hope For The Warriors, started the organization in 2006. It was founded at Camp Lejeune which is where Jeffrey was stationed when he deployed in 2007. Ironically, Robin said, Jeffrey was actually in her husband’s unit during that deployment.
Robin said that Hope For The Warriors recognized very early on that the impact of combat–-whether it’s multiple combat tours or injury or the losing someone that is loved so much—impacts a lot of people, and you can’t really heal just one because there are a lot of people who need to be a part of that healing process. Robin gave the example of a service member coming home with an injury who would need to heal along with the family.
“We are celebrating ten years of Hope now. It is a comprehensive care organization and we have stayed true to our roots and what our intentions were when we started in 2006.” This is important work and it is critical that we be able to continue doing this work. “Military families, while they are tough and resilient, need to be cared for in a very particular way.”
For the past five years, Hope For The Warriors has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an organization that evaluates non-profit organizations for their fiscal responsibility and accountability. Click here to find out more about Hope for the Warriors.
Closing
This weekend was a time of remembering loved ones who had given their all while in the service of our country.
Robin said, “We know that it is so important to them that no one forgets and that people always remember the sacrifices that they have made and that the children, wives or husbands or sons or fathers have made.” “By highlighting those Gold Star Families and their service members at that race on Memorial Day Weekend, it’s just an amazing opportunity to keep those names and those stories alive,” she said.
Robin added that Hope for the Warriors will continue doing this for families throughout the year and not just one day a year. “There is so much to learn from them and be inspired by them,” she said.
Jeffrey's Mom, Teresa, was very thankful for the weekend. "This is an experience that we want Conner to remember forever. It meant so much to us for him to see his Dad, our HERO honored by so many," she said. "We remember Jeffrey every single day that we go on in this life without him, it is nice to see strangers do the same."
Courtesy of Hope For The Warriors
Courtesy of Hope For The Warriors
Courtesy of Hope For The Warriors
Courtesy of Teresa Rutledge
Courtesy of Hope For The Warriors