Since 2013, we have helped raise money for disabled veterans and their families. This year, we are partnering with a new charity, the Semper Fi Fund. This charity was founded in 2004 by a group of Marine Corps spouses and has earned the highest possible rating from charity watch dog groups. We all want to know that the money we donate goes to the causes we support and the Semper Fi Fund manages to do just that, setting aside an astonishingly low 6% of its revenues to cover their overheard expenses.
My father, Lt. Richard Daerr, USMC, was severely wounded in May 1967 during the Vietnam War. At 23 years old, he received injuries that would change him for the rest of his life, receiving a disability rating of 100%. After nearly a year of repeated surgeries and hospital residence, he entered into a world with a "new normal."
Despite his physical disabilities, Lt. Daerr went on to earn his law degree from the University of Texas and his MBA from George Washington University, leading into five years of service as counsel for the United States Justice Department in Washington D.C. Eventually Richard entered the business world and transitioned from a role as lead counsel to an executive position, ultimately becoming President of a Houston-based company called CRSS.
In 2000, Richard helped teach a course on International Business at Arizona State University as well as a rotating professor for a course on Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston. Several years later, Richard became a professor of International Business, Business Law and Business Ethics at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. He also established the college's Business Internship program and helped create a new Landman program in the College of Business.
In the early 2010's, Richard stepped down from his role in education and returned to Texas, where he resides with my mother, Karin, in the country outside of Hico, Texas. Never one to stay inactive, he continues to help advise emerging companies and serves on the board of several as well.
Richard has always enjoyed his time in the country and I think if he had the option, he may have chosen to be a cowboy if he could do it all over again. He finds his peace in the countryside of Texas just as I find it in the mountains of Colorado.
My Dad often speaks about my athletic accolades the way I just spoke about him: with ultimate pride.
Richard came back from Vietnam and had to face a 'new normal.' Many of our veterans today are faced with the same thing. The difficulties and the challenges they face are real and will last their entire lifetime.
My father has never lived one day of his life since May 26, 1967 without pain.
The physical and emotional scars of war will never be erased, but with our continued help and support, they can be eased.
Please consider making a donation to the Semper Fi Fund to help veterans, like my father, and their families.
Donations can be made HERE.
Thank you for reading,
Justin