Cpt. Ben Harrow, who lost both legs due to an IED explosion in Afghanistan 4 months ago is as tough as they come, and loves his family like no other.  He is working hard to recover from his wounds, not just physically but mentally. The kind of dedication and the time it takes to recover from this can take years.  No soldier in this condition should have to worry about renovating his house and adapting a vehicle to meet his new physical needs.

So, thanks to Operation Once in a Lifetime, he doesn’t. Thanks to the support of OOIAL friends and members, we were able to help raise over $40,000 for Ben and his family which will be used to renovate his house and for a handicap accessible vehicle. This is what you support when you support Operation Once in a Lifetime.

(Pictured, top Cpt Ben Harrow while deployed; bottom left Cpt Harrow with Operation Once in a Lifetime Board Member Mike Edison; bottom right Cpt. Ben Harrow with his wife and son)

(Cpt Ben Harrow at a New years Eve party with friends in family,
video of him thanking Operation Once in a Lifetime for the support)

Thanks to your support, we have helped 900 military families that needed a little extra help during the holidays.  Watch the video and see what your support meant to these military families.

More exciting stuff, we made the news!!

This holiday season, your support did THIS :

Sgt. Jones wife, who is six months pregnant, was admitted to the hospital till the end of her pregnancy due to complications with her twins. Sgt. Jones could not afford to visit his wife who is admitted to a hospital 100 miles away from his duty station. So we provided these donated gift cards so he could be with his wife during Christmas.

SSG Rollason was hit by and IED 2 years ago in Afghanistan. As he lay in bed at Walter Reed, President Obama walked into his room and asked him : “if you had one wish, what would it be?”
He said, to meet Troy Polamalu. So after a couple of phone calls, Troy visited SSG Rollason in the hospital. Troy, OOIAL’s biggest supporter, told him if and when he is up for a game, to let him know.
With the help of OOIAL and Troy, SSG Rollason went to the Steelers vs Chargers game 2 weeks ago.

LCpl Cornish is a single mom and Marine who lost her grandfather last month and took emergency leave to go back home for the funeral. Because of this, she was short on her rent for the month and was just hours from being evicted for being two weeks behind on her rent. Thanks to OOIAL, this mother and Marine will be sleeping in their apartment tonight with their rent caught up.

These are just some of the storied OOIAL and you helped accomplish. To see more eye-opening stories and keep up with us, check out our facebook page.