The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has created a new scholarship to honor four explosive ordnance technicians killed during a November training accident at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and has pledged up to $30,000 for each of their seven children to help them pursue higher education.
Their children, now all under 10 years of age, will be eligible for aid to attend an accredited college or university as part of the foundation’s existing Heroes Tribute Scholarship Program for the Children of the Fallen, according to a foundation press release. The program provides dependents of those killed in the line of duty with money to deffer the cost of higher education.
To honor their fallen parents, however, the foundation has also created the the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marine Memorial Scholarship which will be awarded to one student beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year which typically kicks off in August. The foundation will officially announce the new scholarship Saturday at the annual Eagle, Globe and Anchor dinner in Pebble Beach, Calif.
The four Marine EOD technicians, Gunnery Sgt. Gregory Mullins, 31, of Bayou L’ourse, La., Staff Sgt. Eric Summers, 32, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., Staff Sgt. Mathew Marsh, 28, of Long Beach, Calif., and Sgt. Miguel Ortiz, 27, of Oceanside, Calif., were killed Nov. 13 during a range maintenance operation to dispose of unexploded ordnance. They were all decorated combat veterans with multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan under their belts. A Navy hospital corpsman and two other Marines standing nearby were treated at the scene and released, according a Marine news release.
The foundation is now accepting applications for the newly created EOD scholarship. All applications must be received by March 3, 2014. To be eligible, applicants must:
– Be the child of a Marine who received an honorable discharge or was killed while serving in the Corps.
– Be the child of Navy Corpsman who is serving or has served with a Marine unit and received an honorable discharge or was killed while serving in the Navy.
– Have a grade point average of at least 2.0.
– Meet income requirements.
– Plan to attend an accredited undergraduate college, university or vocational/technical institution in the upcoming academic year.
The scholarship foundation gives priority to children with a parent killed or wounded in action.
For additional details visit the foundation’s website.
2 Comments
You might want to check the spelling in your title. “technitians” should be “technicians”.
Great post, thanks. Make sure your viewers don’t forget that it is UK Mothers Day on 30th March 2014.