Patriotic Americans agree: to serve your country is the most noble thing a man or woman will do in life. As veteran Randy Fraser also knows, it often takes the support of a loved one on the homefront to manage and succeed in military life.
31-year-old Fraser, of Arizona, gives tremendous praise to his entire family, especially partner Shana.
Pictured above: Veteran Randy Fraser, partner Shana, and daughters Madysen and Riley.“Shana is my caregiver and mother of our two daughters, she keeps me together. She works hard to find me age-appropriate veteran opportunities. All of that on her plate and she still manages to volunteer as a group leader for our area Operation Homefront's Hearts of Valor to support and give back to other local caregivers and spouses,” he beams.
Fraser joined the United States Marine Corps in 2004 at 18-years-of-age as a machine gunner. He and his crew went through tough conditions every single day. As a result of being sent to the same mission twice, Fraser deals with multiple concussions, a diagnosis of a Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress, tinnitus, migraines, left ankle, knee and wrist injuries, and neurogenic conditions.
Since leaving the service in 2008, Shana and their two daughters, Madysen, 8 and Riley, 1 ½, have been steadfast at Fraser’s side.
The family was getting by, finding strength in each other, when the used car they were gifted through the Cars 4 Heroes program broke down and large repairs were necessary to get back on the road.
“Being that our family’s livelihood depends on transportation, from providing a faster way to work to getting to health care appointments, our family would have faced a domino of financial hardships without the VFW’s Unmet Needs grant,” Fraser said.
Fraser began to google financial assistance for veterans and quickly came to the Unmet Needs program which he describes as “standard, respectable and personal.”
Able to fix the family car, the Fraser family stayed financially stable and avoided the ripple of unmet expenses he feared.
Fraser wants supporters of the VFW to know that when a donation is made, it goes directly to sustaining the lives of families who supported this country.
Fraser and his family are now on the road to greater things. “My biggest goal is homeownership. I want to provide stability for my girls and own a piece of what I fought and served for,” Fraser concludes.