The Story So Far

Hi there & welcome to my first blog entry. I want to be an actor when I grow up. I have been in 2 different films and will be filming one this summer. I also like to make videos that I post on YouTube. And just like everyone else, I like to hang out with my friends. In many ways, I am just an ordinary 13 year old.

But the reason why a lot of people know me is because I am interested in World War II and in history in general. I am especially interested in Major Dick Winters. Major Winters is a man who accomplished many things during wartime and never bragged about what he had done. He had an amazing company (E Company) and they were the best. Major Winters is my hero.

My local paper wrote an article about director Tim Gray who was trying to construct a monument in Normandy that would look like Major Winters and would be dedicated to everyone that served there on D-Day (6-6-1944). When I read about Tim’s project, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I decided to created rubber wristbands that said “Hang Tough” on them. These words were made famous by Major Winters. The wristbands were olive green to match the WWII army uniforms. I asked for a minimum donation of $1 for each wristband. Some of the ways, I let people know about my project were by marching in parades, talking to clubs, and writing letters.

Before I knew it I had raised my first $10,000 and my mom drove me up to Tim’s house in Rhode Island to give him a check. I have gotten to meet a lot of people including some of the actors that played in the mini-series Band of Brothers. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette put me on the front page of their newspaper and that story was picked up by the AP! That made my entire project go national and really helped me get a lot of donations. Because of that one article, I have been on CNN and Fox News.  Now, I have raised over $98,000 and am almost at my goal of $100,000. I’m very close.

The monument is paid for, but I am still getting money for the documentary Tim Gray is making that will be about Major Winters and his leadership skills. I will be going to France to see the monument unveiled and be giving a speech there. I will be blogging about my experiences while I am in France and about my wristband project.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog entry.