‘If we set our mind to something … we will accomplish it’

A year ago, some members of Cummings-Behlke American Legion Riders Chapter 226 in Mayo, Md., learned the story of former U.S. Chief Warrant Officer Nick Fogle. The veteran had served in the Army for 18 years as an infantryman, an EOD bomb technician and an Apache helicopter pilot.

At age 38, Fogle took his own life, leaving behind a wife and three children.

The chapter wanted to do something to honor Fogle but realized the rest of their 2023 schedule was full. So, this September, during Suicide Prevention Month, the chapter did something about it. Over the course of a few months and culminating with a recent all-day event, the chapter was able to raise more than $92,000 through its ALR Project 226 Veteran Suicide Awareness.

Of that total, $50,000 was donated in honor of Fogle to the nonprofit America’s Warrior Partnership, which connects local veteran-serving organizations with resources, services and partners that they need to support veterans, their families and caregivers at every stage of veterans’ lives. After covering the cost of the event, the remainder of the money raised – approximately $20,000 – will be donated to other veteran suicide prevention organizations.

“Our organization’s American Legion Riders are there to support veterans, support veterans causes, support our post. That’s just what we do,” said ALR Chapter Director and event co-chair Jim Hall, a member of Sons of The American Legion Squadron 226. “We do dink-and-dunk stuff. And a while back we’d talked about how there wasn’t enough emphasis put on veteran and soldier suicide. When this family came along, this kind of sealed the deal for us. It just kind of inspired us.”

Planning for the event started last February. “It was fundraising, getting donations, reaching out to businesses, getting sponsors,” Hall said. “In the end, we raised about $92,000.”

Area restaurants hosted fundraising nights for the project leading up to the closing event on Sept. 7 and included a silent auction, eight live bands, entertainment for children, and food and drinks. State and local politicians attended the event. Another earlier fundraiser in Washington, D.C., included an appearance from Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha, who signed copies of his book “Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor.”  

Hall believed all along that ALR Project 226 could be a success, because of the commitment of the chapter’s members. “Our core group … if we set our mind to something, we’re hell and determined to accomplish it. And we will accomplish it,” he said. “When I went to our post commander, I was like, ‘Here’s what we want to do.’ I got with some of our core guys, and we were like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to make this happen.’

“To donate ($50,000), we knew we had to raise $60,000 or $65,000. Because even thought we got a lot of stuff donated, there were some costs that were associated with it. Setting a goal of $50,000, was it scary a little bit? Yeah, because you always want to make your goals. But down at the post we’ve always set the bar high, and we always accomplish what we set out to do.”

Hall hopes that what Chapter 226 was able to accomplish can inspire other posts and chapters to do their part for suicide awareness and The American Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention program.

“The Legion has the Be the One,” he said. “Hopefully, maybe, we can steer more people into that program.”