Navy Spouses

We want to thank Lindsay Bradford for beginning her Life Chest journey! We are honored to be a part of it!

 "So excited! I have officially started my The Life Chest journey. So far I have included the three military spouse magazines from MSOY events, challenge coins, the cards from my amazing Branch Spouses and fellow MSOYs, sea air and space name card which was a special event for me, and my ticket from the holocaust museum. Can't wait to keep adding. ‪#‎navysoy16‬ ‪#‎navywife‬ ‪#‎navyspouse‬ ‪#‎navylife‬ ‪#‎milespouse‬‪#‎blessed‬ (thank you Donna, I received the mug!)"

The Life Chest in the Macomb Daily

Remember our new Life Chest Lifer Claude Wood? Well, The Life Chest and Claude’s story had the privilege of being featured in local newspaper The Macomb Daily by Linda May!

Read the full article here!

“Freedom Military Life Chests –- repositories for treasured memorabilia –- were recently presented to 55 veterans from the Tri-County area. They received them the day before Veterans Day at the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 9 building in Detroit.

The Life Chest company of Troy put on the program and donated the chests.

“Veterans were selected based upon their service both during and after their military time,” Mike Sand, of Fraser, said.

Macomb County vets who received chests included Al Opra, Laura Rios, Jerry Van de Vyver, Dave Trevino, Phil Gannia, Paul Palazzolo, Steven Mrozek, Tara Perez, Keith Edwards, Joe Rheker, Steven Gerebics, Robert Slavko and Therese Wrobel.

Sand received one, as did George Sheppard III.

On Veterans Day, Sheppard gave his chest to Claude Wood who is the Fraser-Reid Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6691 charter commander. Wood celebrated his 97th birthday on that day. Sheppard’s father was also a charter member of the post in 1946.

“George gifted his chest to a special friend and fellow veteran, Claude Wood. Claude is a 97-year-old World War II veteran and a 1946 charter member of the Fraser VFW Post 6691. George’s father, George Sheppard Jr., was also a charter member. Claude and George III have both dedicated their lives to supporting our military and veterans. At a surprise birthday recognition and celebration, George presented his special gift to Claude. A very emotional moment indeed,” Sand said.

The chests have pewter emblems representing each branch of the armed forces and the Great Seal of the United States.

“This is definitely a family heirloom to be passed from generation to generation, one of the finest holiday presents anyone could ask for. We cannot thank The Life Chest company enough for such a gift,” Sand said. “It was a very nice gesture on their part and I kind of look at the chest as a cross between a footlocker and a hope chest. I have put some very special things in mine such as the pen Governor Engler used to lend the State of Michigan’s support to the Michigan Vietnam Memorial Monument.

Sand’s chest contains a U.S. flag displayed by four Detroit mayors, an autographed book depicting Vietnam memorials in all 50 states, keepsakes from his parents, challenge coins, military patches, audio tapes, DVDs, and books related to Sand’s Vietnam War experiences.

“It’s sort of my personal time capsule,” he said.”

Thank you to Linda May for the great article!

“Living the Dream” with Mark “Ranger” Jones

Mark “Ranger” Jones is a retired Master Sergeant who describes his experience in the military as “living the dream.”

While in his sophomore year of college Ranger joined the Army as a cook with the Airborne Rangers because of his wife (and high school sweetheart) Lorries medical condition, she had suffered an aneurism and he wanted to be able to provide her with good medical benefits.

Before arriving at the Fort Benning Jump School Ranger had no idea that he would have to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft. Ranger has said “It was probably noon, but it was my first night jump because my eyes were closed tight the whole way down.”

In addition to serving in Desert Storm, Desert Shield and the Haitian Campaign, Ranger Jones went on to become the Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Hugh Shelton. In his US Army career Jones has completed more than 4,000 airborne jumps, even jumping with former President Bush.

Interesting Facts:

To this day, Ranger Jones remains the only Airborne and High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump-qualified cook in US Army history.

After his retirement Ranger Jones continued to be a strong advocate for service men and women alike, recently he appeared in the Veterans Business Journal to discuss opportunities in the Federal Government for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and has assisted in a major ad campaign for the US Army’s recruiting efforts.

Mark “Ranger” Jones in Todays Military Ad

Jones serves as a Board Member for the Greater Southeast Hospital Foundation and Salute America’s Heroes Foundation as well as the Fisher House™ Foundation.

“You can’t judge an individual by how much money they make, but you can always judge someone by their character,” Jones has said, and it’s obvious that he applies this to his company The Ranger Group.

“The Ranger Group is a global general construction and commissioning services company founded in 2006 by U.S. Army veteran Mark “Ranger” Jones. It is a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) company as well as a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) with Virginia-Certified Small Minority Owned Business (SWaM), Maryland Department of Transportation® (MDOT), and South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency™ (SCTRCA).” – http://www.ranger-group.com/

The Ranger Group Foundation is a proud supporter of the Fisher House(TM) Foundation, with Ranger Jones serving on the Board of Trustees. The Fisher House(TM) is an organization that shares our commitment to military and veteran communities and their families, providing a “home-away-from-home” for more than 10,000 families of patients receiving care at major military and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Our support also included negotiating a new roof for the West Palm Beach, FL Fisher House(TM) at no cost. To find out more about the program or to contribute to the Fisher House(TM), please visit www.fisherhouse.org

Ranger with Ken Fisher in Iraq 2008, visiting troops and hospitals to learn first hand how to better help Soldiers in their time of need.

The Life Chest team had the pleasure of spending this years Grand Prix in Michigan with Mark “Ranger” Jones.