Hello,

About two weeks ago, I attended a breakfast as an invited guest for an organization I'd never heard of. It was called, "The Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund." The breakfast was held at the new Mandarin Hotel in downtown Boston, and I went for three reasons. First, I got asked by a customer. Second, Jonathan Kraft from the New England Patriots and Wyc Grousbeck from the Boston Celtics (both HPHC customers and marketing partners) were part of a true "all-star" panel that also included Larry Lucchino from the Boston Red Sox and Charlie Jacobs from the Boston Bruins. Third, I was told I'd be sitting with Boston Mayor Tom Menino - also a very big (and most of the time - very happy) customer.

I showed up a few minutes early, looked around, saw a couple of people I knew - but unlike most of these events - at which I believe I know at least one person in every chit-chat group of three - I really didn't "know" this crowd. There were also a lot of kids there, and a number of men and women in uniform. I wandered in, found my table, and struck up a conversation with the Mayor - who remains a very happy customer of HPHC(!). Shortly after that, a young man in Marine dress blues joined our table. His name was John Lowry, he was a Princeton grad, a classmate of Wyc Grousbeck's - in fact - and his day job is General Manager of a Harley Davidson manufacturing plant in Kansas City. This day, he was there as a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, and he was the keynote speaker.

There were elements of this breakfast that made it much like many of the events I attend throughout the year on behalf of many causes that are either supported by my wife and me personally, or by Harvard Pilgrim. The food was kind of beside the point, and there were too many speeches. But there were moments at this event that would move the coldest soul.

The Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund was started in December of 2004 by a young man named Peter Trovato. He was struck by a story he read about a young serviceman from Massachusetts who died in Iraq, and left behind a wife and newborn son. Peter was determined to provide that child with the funds he would need to pay for a college education at the school of his choice, and to make sure that child would know that his father's sacrifice had been honored and remembered. He also thought that a fund like this would give soldiers who didn't make it home from those conflicts a chance to make one last major contribution to their children's intellectual growth and development. A final gift, if you will, from mom or dad.

As part of the morning's program, we were all introduced to about thirty kids. They ranged in age from not old enough to leave their mothers' arms, to old enough to race between the tables and chairs as only a toddler can, to teenagers - just on the cusp of young adulthood. They were the children I saw when I walked into the ballroom to begin with, and they were the children of servicemen and women who'd died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some had tears in their eyes as they were introduced, some were too young to know what was happening, and some simply went about the business of being kids in a roomful of adults. One woman who sat near me stood up when the children were introduced, holding her infant son. I saw her again a few minutes later - along with her husband - in a video produced for the event. There's something kind of eerie about watching a video that includes a menagerie of moving pictures and still photos of a young man - now gone - holding his very young son, singing gently to him as he nuzzles his neck, and goofing into the camera. He seemed so...alive, joyful, in love with his son and his wife.

Yet there she was, holding that young son in her arms - a widow such a short time later - and smiling through the tears.

The Colonel followed the video presentation, and he talked about the stuff Marines usually talk about - honor dedication, selflessness, faith and commitment. But he also talked about how important it is for soldiers to believe that their fellow citizens back home have their backs. He said every soldier joins the armed services to protect the nation they grew up in. First and foremost, it's about being part of something greater than themselves - doing something special with their time and their lives - for the nation they believe in. For some, it will lead inevitably to time served in scary, dangerous places - where death and injury are simple facts of life. It is in times like these, said Colonel Lowry, that soldiers rely on the support of a grateful nation to keep on keeping on. Most serve because they want to honor their country, he said, and the support and thanks of their fellow Americans is what sustains them through their darkest hours.

He added that he has little connection with Massachusetts, but as a Marine Colonel, he had heard about the Soldiers Legacy Fund. It is one of dozens, maybe hundreds, of charitable organizations that have been started over the years by ordinary Americans to honor and support the work, commitment and sacrifice of servicemen and women and their families in this country. It is organizations like this, he said, that validate the commitment our soldiers make to you and to this country when they charge into harm's way. It means everything to them that the folks back home worry about them, and support them and their families.

Peter Trovato wasn't sure how much money his fund should try to put aside for each child, but he figured it had to be at least $5,000 per child per year for a four-year stint in college - or $20,000. College, obviously, costs a lot more than that - in fact, it can cost TEN TIMES more than that - but every little bit helps, and Peter wasn't sure how much money he could raise. He then went about the business of raising funds and awareness. Right now, there are somewhere between 50 and 60 children in Massachusetts who lost their mom or dad in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. To meet the minimum requirement he set for himself, the fund would have to raise around $1.2 MM. To date, the fund has raised closer to $3 MM - a major success.

I share this story today primarily to remind you all that military service is often as hard on the family as it is on the soldier who pursues it. There is tremendous satisfaction that comes from serving one's country - but there are sacrifices, too - and those spread far beyond the ones incurred by the person who serves. As we honor all Veterans today, let's also remember that most of them have families that have stood side by side with their loved one along the way. And if someone should die in the line of duty, it is the family that's left behind that must carry on in their absence. No small task.

I left the breakfast with that young women's final comments in the video ringing in my ears: "Someday, when my boy is old enough to understand, I'll be able to tell him that his dad gave him a great gift - the chance to attend the college of his choice. And it means the world to me to know that there are people out there who are willing to help my son - and the other children like him - as a way to recognize and honor my beloved husband's service to his country."

Means a lot to me, too.
Charlie Baker