Special
Operations Tour Visits St. Louis
On July 2 outside of City Hall, City officials welcomed the members
of the Special Operations Tour, who are riding bicycles across
America to raise funds to educate the children of our fallen Special
Forces heroes.
Begun in 1980 as the Col. Arthur D. “Bull” Simons Scholarship
Fund, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) has carried
out its mission of providing a college education to children who
have a lost a parent while serving in Army, Navy, Air Force and
Marine Corps Special Operations during an operational or training
mission. The Foundation obtains its funding primarily from private
citizens, corporations, Combined Federal Campaign donations, and
fundraising.
On May 19th, the three cyclists left San Diego on a journey that
will take them 3,000 miles across the country. They hope to raise
$100,000 for SOWF.
McConnell graduated from Manasquan (New Jersey) High School in
2000 and enlisted in the Navy alongside his friend Richard Graham.
He graduated first in his class from submarine school, completed
Navy SCUBA diving school in Pearl Harbor, and served as a Radioman
onboard a Navy submarine during three crucial missions and then
as a ship’s diver. He was honorably discharged in June 2005.
Graham graduated in 2000 from Manasquan High school and joined
the Navy, serving two overseas deployments as a scout/sniper with
the Navy SEALs. After being honorably discharged in 2006, he started
a T-shirt company, which is helping sponsor the Special Operations
Bike Tour 2007.
Campbell also graduated from Manasquan High School in 2000. He
was only two years old when his father died of cancer in 1983
– the result of his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in
the Marines during the Vietnam War.
The City of St. Louis recognizes the sacrifice the Special Operations
Forces give to our country and applauds Graham, Campbell and McConnell
for their efforts to raise money and awareness for the Special
Operations Warrior Foundation.
For more information about SOWF, visit their website at www.specialops.org.
In the photo (from left to right) are Tim Embree of the Mayor’s
Office, who presented a proclamation to the trio of riders on
behalf of Mayor Francis G. Slay; Richard Graham, III; James Campbell;
Sean McConnell and William Siedhoff, Director of the Department
of Human Services.
