Veteran 8 11 2016

Page 1

35 cents

VOL. 4/ISSUE 41

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2016

9/11 Heroes Gold Star family gets Run returns a make-over to Palm City

AJ Young, a drummer with the St. Lucie County Fire District’s Honor Guard, and Ryli Reback, prepare a large American flag to honor Gold Star parents Clay and Linda Schumann. Believe With Me, a Palm Beach County group, organized a complete renovation of the couple’s home, along with getting them a new car.

Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE

pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com

The Travis Manion Foundation’s 9/11 Heroes Run is back for the second year in Palm City. The run starts and ends at the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial at the (Peter & Julie) Cummings Library, 2551 S.W. Matheson Ave. Kim Major, who retired from the Stuart Police Department, is the race director. “It starts and finishes under the beam,” she said. The memorial features a 22-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center erect on a pedestal aimed slightly north by northeast —toward New York City. The run will start at 7:30 a.m. on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. Runners will run north on Matheson and head east southeast on Southwest Mapp Road. “It’ll take runners through (Lance Cpl. Justin Wilson Park, 2050 S.W. Mapp Road),” Major said. Wilson died in 2010 while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. His family moved to Palm City shortly before he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He played racquetball at the park before entering the service. After going through Justin Wilson Park, they’ll continue on Mapp Road to Southwest Martin Downs Boulevard and head west back to the Peter & Julie Cummings Library. There will be ongoing road work on Martin Downs, but Major said the Florida Department of Transportation reports the sidewalk will be open for the run. Major said the timed run was in Jensen Beach

See 911 RUN page 9

Staff photo by Patrick McCallister

Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE

pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com

Jordan Schumann grew up in a quaint Port St. Lucie home. He attended St. Lucie West Centennial High School and joined the Army after graduating in 2006. He got married and was expecting his first child. Two comrades and he were killed by a roadside bomb on July 7, 2011, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, while serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Schumann received the Purple Heart posthumously. Fitting then that his parents, Clay and Linda Schumann, saw their completely renovated home on Purple Heart Day, Aug. 7. It’s the home Jordan grew up in. It’d fallen into some disrepair in recent years. The couple didn’t just see the renovated home that Sunday afternoon — they

saw it for the first time accompanied by dozens of well-wishers cheering, the St. Lucie County Fire District’s Honor Guard playing “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes and drums, and a mammoth American flag flying from the ladder of a fire truck. The couple saw it with Port St. Lucie’s vice mayor and a candidate of the 18th Congressional District, Purple Heart recipient Brian Mast, on hand. “I don’t know where to begin to say something,” Clay told those gathered. He visibly gathered himself and found a place to begin — by sharing something the family believes about life. “We found out a long time ago it’s not things, it’s people,” Clay said. “Invest in people.” To that he added— “You can’t out give a God who loves you so much.”

See SCHUMANN page 6


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Veteran 8 11 2016 by Veteran Voice, LLC - Issuu