About Us
Hello,
My name is Matthew E. Musil. My son, Robert M. Musil is a Staff Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne having served two tours in Afghanistan. He was home on leave after visiting some of his comrades at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC. While he was home, he was notified that Sgt. Allen Thomas was killed in action due to a suicide bomber or IED. Upon returning to Afghanistan, Robert was notified that Sgt. Allen Thomas was actually severely wounded and came out of a coma. This was Sgt. Thomas' 4th combat tour and he was an expectant father, engaged to be married after this tour. We were aware there were severe internal injuries along with extensive rehabilitation that he has had to endure to continue his career in the U.S. Army.
It came to me, as being a Sons of the American Legion member, I wanted to put together a fund raiser for Sgt. Thomas and his family. I wanted to show Sgt. Thomas and all our troops our appreciation and support for all he and our Armed forces have sacrificed for us and our country and what little they received in return for all their sacrifices and years of dedicated service to help keep this country safe. After all, this is our fight too!!
Therefore on September 5th 2010, we held an all day indoor/outdoor event including an outdoor concert with live bands along with a pig roast, moonwalk, dunk tank, horseshoe and bean bag tournaments. We will also had guest speakers, one of which is the Past State Commander, Sons of The American Legion, Mark Melone who supports this cause 100%, along with performances by Matt "Elvis" Ragano, an Elvis impersonator, and other musical entertainment to add to our festivities. We also offered a silent auction to help this great cause and raise funds for the family of a true patriot Sgt. Allen Thomas.
More Info About Us
Sgt. Thomas' situation inspired the formation of "Project Just Pick One". Our mission is to have organizations use the concept of this project to "adopt" a service person in their community to assist with issues that may have developed as a result of their military service.
Other Projects
Belvidere Sons of the American Legion, Squadron #77 have adopted Cpl. John Peck, a northern Illinois native who lost both arms and legs in an explosion in Afghanistan. They held a chili supper, (the thing in Rockford), and have plans to do a motorcycle run in the near future.
