HAMILTON, Ohio — The Ohio Chapter of USA Cares is planning a "Memorial Ride" in Hamilton on May 27 and they're asking for participants.
All the funds raised will go to help people like Gregory Middleton, a Marine veteran who did several tours in Iraq before he was medically discharged due to injuries.
"It's the job. And that's kind of how I dealt with it for a long, long time. I didn't deal with the post-traumatic stress element. I don't even know that I recognized it for a long time," Middleton said.
He knew something was happening, but other aspects of his life competed for space in his brain; separating from his wife and the Marine Corps and not having a degree when he got out.
“The prospect of reentering civilian life was really, really frightening for me and causing me a great deal of anxiety," he said. "At that point in time, I had three children who I was seeing scarcely, and you know, there's a lot of other things that are happening to me personally, and I thought, for a long time, like, that's what's causing me distress.”
But then clarity came, while standing on the 2nd floor of a barracks in Camp Lejeune.
“I was standing there, and taps starts to play and everybody stops and comes to the POA or starts to salute. I pride myself on the fact that I don't cry. And I just, I lost it. I lost it. And I, I had no idea why I couldn't explain it," Middleton said. "And then just memories that this kid that that I lost over there just came flooding back. And it was at that moment, like, I had heard somebody talking about it and explaining what it's like. And it was like, pardon my language, holy s**t. Like, I'm having a post-traumatic stress episode. It was then that I knew that I needed help.”
But at first, he just poured himself into work, buried in studies to get a degree, and another, and another. He formed a non-profit and, in the process, sacrificed his home, all his savings. When the non-profit failed, he was in danger of losing his home.
“I broke, I broke, and it's like, you gotta get some help," he said. "Fortunately, for me, there were people around me who recognized the state that I was in and wanted to give me some help.”
But it wasn’t enough and finally he was down to his last call, to USA Cares.
“She's like, hey, look, we typically only provide this level of support. But considering your situation, we're going to offer you a bit more,” Middleton said.
They supported Middleton with months of utilities, got his car insurance current and he got back to work, saved his house and restarted his business.
It’s that success that James Clark wants to duplicate with every veteran who needs help.
“I'm at $20,000 raised already this year and we're just out of the first quarter,” said Clark, executive director of the Ohio Chapter of USA Cares.
He raised $70,000 in 2022 and wants to do more this year with the first Memorial Ride in Hamilton. It starts at the Butler County Soldiers Monument and then heads down State Route 4 toward Middletown.
“Eventually, we want to do this as a parade," Clark said. "When it gets bigger, we want to line the streets of Main Street in Hamilton and go from there.”
The first-year event will feature a keynote from Chelsea Porterfield, the first woman to be the Sergeant of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
With escorts from the Butler County Sheriff’s office, Clark expects they can handle 100 motorcycle riders and at $25 for registration, that would be a nice boost to help the chapter and Blue Star Families help even more veterans like Gregory.
“For every success story that I represent, there are literally 1000s of veterans who've lost their lives or livelihood because they didn't get the support that the needed,” Middleton said.
You can find more details here.
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