Military Scholarship Featured Article

Scholarship Dedicated to Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry

Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry, 28, of Lorena, Texas, specialized in defusing explosive devices. As an explosive ordinance disposal technician, Fry disarmed hundreds of bombs during his six-month tour in Iraq.

Gunnery Sergeant Fry had a week left in his Iraq tour in 2006 when he injured his hand. He was given the option of leaving Iraq and going home with a Bronze Star. He declined; instead, Gunnery Sergeant Fry volunteered to go on one last run. Gunnery Sgt. Fry was killed March 8, 2006, by an improvised explosive device in Anbar province, Iraq. He left behind a widow and three small children.

In his honor, Public Law 111-32, The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, amended the Post-9/11 GI Bill to expand the benefit to children of fallen U.S. soldiers who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.

Fry's family described him as selfless in his work, protecting his comrades and Iraqis from explosive devices.

"He believed in what he was doing," Malia Fry said of her husband. "He was protecting his country, and doing his job...he didn't want his children to grow up with people blowing up buildings."

He laid down his life so other Marines would be safe, and he did it willingly. Every EOD tech...over there does the same thing a hundred times a day, and they don't think about themselves. They think about the Marines... They think about the children."

In one incident, Fry arrived at an Iraqi home to find a bomb strapped to a young mentally challenged Iraqi boy. He disarmed the bomb, saved the child's life and countless others who might have been injured or killed had that bomb gone off.

Thanks to Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, Fry is honored as a proud Marine, a devoted father and a humble patriot whose memory will continue to help the children of his military colleagues.

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