thedrifter
02-09-07, 07:29 AM
Friday, February 09, 2007
Wilton Citadel cadet to run to help fellow marines
By JAMES NASH
jnash@wiltonvillager.com
WILTON — Wiltonian Ross Nussbaum said he'll be wearing his red unit shirt, the one worn for physical training at The Citadel, the historic South Carolina military college where he is a sophomore cadet preparing to become a U.S. Marine Corps officer. He'll also be wearing what he called "uts and boots" — utility gear, footwear, military trousers and a 55 pound pack.
Nussbaum will be outfitted in this manner for the 30th Annual Cooper River Run, a 10 kilometer event scheduled for March 31 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Citadel instructors and cadets have signed on for the run to raise awareness for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund [IMSFF].
The IMSFF, a non-profit organization, provides financial assistance to individual marines and sailors with recuperative and long-term needs. Some require home and vehicular modifications or rehabilitation aids that help them perform daily routines.
The IMSFF also provides grants to families dealing with expenses incurred traveling and attending to hospitalized or recovering military relatives.
Wilton resident Oraine Nussbaum said her son has long been interested in a military career. She said he proudly kept the military medals earned by family members in his room at home. "He always had a passion for becoming a marine," she said.
Reached at The Citadel, Nussbaum, 20, said he lived in Wilton since he was 10 years old and attended Wilton High School for two years before finishing his secondary education in Woodstock, Connecticut.
Nussbaum said four of his great uncles served in W.W.II. "My mother had three uncles who landed on Normandy," he said. "All were enlisted men,"
The fourth great uncle, a brother to the D-day veterans, died of a sniper wound he received leading a patrol during the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific Mariana Islands. Nussbaum said his paternal grandfather was a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army.
Nussbaum is a member of the Naval Officer Reserve Corps and attends The Citadel on a marine corps scholarship.
A "dean's list" sophomore majoring in psychology, Nussbaum will become a marine 2nd Lt. upon graduation from The Citadel. If he gets his wish, he will undergo training and become an infantry officer.
Linda Wagner, a IMSFF office manager in Quantico, Va. said the IMSFF has provided $8 million in assistance to marines and sailors since the fund was founded in May 2004.
The IMSFF helps families pay for lodging, child care and problems arising from loss of wages when they travel to be with injured military family members. "Sometimes they have to give up jobs to be with a relative," Wagner said.
Wagner said marines or their families apply for grants as needs arise. "It's all done on a case by case basis," Wagner said, and additional grants, called "revisits" are awarded as required. "We don't drop the ball on them," Wagner said.
Wagner said since the fund was established, the IMSFF has handled 3,561 cases representing 1,589 marines and 1,972 re-visits.
Usually grants are dispensed within 72 hours after an application had been approved, according to the IMSFF.
The IMSFF also assists marines and sailors at military hospitals nationwide from the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland to the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital in California. The IMSFF assists veterans at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals from Tampa, Florida to Minneapolis to Palo Alto, California.
Contributions to help injured marines and their families can be made by check made out to IMSFF and sent to Ross Nussbaum, MSC 2168 The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409.
Nussbaum asks that contributors write his name in the memo line on the check to account for "Bridge-Run" related donations, and donations received before March 31 will be counted as part of his fundraising efforts.
The IMSFF web site is at www.semperfifund.org.
Ellie
Wilton Citadel cadet to run to help fellow marines
By JAMES NASH
jnash@wiltonvillager.com
WILTON — Wiltonian Ross Nussbaum said he'll be wearing his red unit shirt, the one worn for physical training at The Citadel, the historic South Carolina military college where he is a sophomore cadet preparing to become a U.S. Marine Corps officer. He'll also be wearing what he called "uts and boots" — utility gear, footwear, military trousers and a 55 pound pack.
Nussbaum will be outfitted in this manner for the 30th Annual Cooper River Run, a 10 kilometer event scheduled for March 31 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Citadel instructors and cadets have signed on for the run to raise awareness for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund [IMSFF].
The IMSFF, a non-profit organization, provides financial assistance to individual marines and sailors with recuperative and long-term needs. Some require home and vehicular modifications or rehabilitation aids that help them perform daily routines.
The IMSFF also provides grants to families dealing with expenses incurred traveling and attending to hospitalized or recovering military relatives.
Wilton resident Oraine Nussbaum said her son has long been interested in a military career. She said he proudly kept the military medals earned by family members in his room at home. "He always had a passion for becoming a marine," she said.
Reached at The Citadel, Nussbaum, 20, said he lived in Wilton since he was 10 years old and attended Wilton High School for two years before finishing his secondary education in Woodstock, Connecticut.
Nussbaum said four of his great uncles served in W.W.II. "My mother had three uncles who landed on Normandy," he said. "All were enlisted men,"
The fourth great uncle, a brother to the D-day veterans, died of a sniper wound he received leading a patrol during the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific Mariana Islands. Nussbaum said his paternal grandfather was a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army.
Nussbaum is a member of the Naval Officer Reserve Corps and attends The Citadel on a marine corps scholarship.
A "dean's list" sophomore majoring in psychology, Nussbaum will become a marine 2nd Lt. upon graduation from The Citadel. If he gets his wish, he will undergo training and become an infantry officer.
Linda Wagner, a IMSFF office manager in Quantico, Va. said the IMSFF has provided $8 million in assistance to marines and sailors since the fund was founded in May 2004.
The IMSFF helps families pay for lodging, child care and problems arising from loss of wages when they travel to be with injured military family members. "Sometimes they have to give up jobs to be with a relative," Wagner said.
Wagner said marines or their families apply for grants as needs arise. "It's all done on a case by case basis," Wagner said, and additional grants, called "revisits" are awarded as required. "We don't drop the ball on them," Wagner said.
Wagner said since the fund was established, the IMSFF has handled 3,561 cases representing 1,589 marines and 1,972 re-visits.
Usually grants are dispensed within 72 hours after an application had been approved, according to the IMSFF.
The IMSFF also assists marines and sailors at military hospitals nationwide from the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland to the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital in California. The IMSFF assists veterans at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals from Tampa, Florida to Minneapolis to Palo Alto, California.
Contributions to help injured marines and their families can be made by check made out to IMSFF and sent to Ross Nussbaum, MSC 2168 The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409.
Nussbaum asks that contributors write his name in the memo line on the check to account for "Bridge-Run" related donations, and donations received before March 31 will be counted as part of his fundraising efforts.
The IMSFF web site is at www.semperfifund.org.
Ellie