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Semper Fi for Life Foundation Endorses Missouri Stem Cell  Research & Cures Initiative

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Let’s speak out for Injured Veterans

18 February 2006 - St. Louis, MO

The Semper Fi for Life Foundation became the first military related organization to endorse the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.  After unanimous ratification by its Board of Directors, the Foundation presented a resolution, accepted by Jeff McCaffrey on behalf of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures.

Opening remarks were made by Lt. Col Charles Boyd, USMC ret., and Military Co-Executive Director of the Foundation, in which he noted the need for research to lead to treatments and cures for military personnel and veterans who sustained life altering wounds and injuries in service to America. Col. Boyd was followed by LCDR Joe Robinson, USNR ret., of the Tuskegee Airmen Association.  Jeff Eisen, Civilian Co-Executive Director of the Foundation then introduced McCaffrey.  Read his introductory remarks here.

Jeff McCaffrey accepts the  SFFL Foundation’s resolution endorsing The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

 

 

From left to right:

 

Jeff Eisen

Civilian Co-Executive Director

Semper Fi for Life Foundation 

 

Jeff McCaffrey

 

Laura Winter

Outreach Coordinator

MO Coalition for Lifesaving Cures

 

Lt. Col. Charles Boyd

Military Co-Executive Director

Semper Fi for Life Foundation

McCaffrey was a Cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy before suffering a spinal cord injury which left him paralyzed.  He has served as a television spokesperson for the Stem Cell Initiative in Missouri. McCaffrey followed up with a letter to Mr. Eisen, expressing his thoughts this way:

 

 

 

I can't even begin to tell you how honored and privileged I felt to accept the Semper Fi for Life Foundation's endorsement of the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative. 

 

Honest to God, not a day goes by when I don't think about my days at the academy, the life I would have lead as an officer in the armed forces.  In spite of this chair that I am confined to, I still regard myself as an officer, a soldier on the frontlines of a different type of battlefield; a battle not against a country or army, but against disease and injury.

 

As I said before, I can't tell you how flattered I was by the genuine and kind remarks of Col. Boyd, yourself, and Lt. Commander Robinson.  It was such a humbling experience, one which I will continue to cherish until the day comes, if God-willing, I can walk away from this chair and back into the camaraderie and respect of the men who stood before me on Saturday.

 

Whether it becomes a reality or not, I hope my service, in whatever capacity it might be, can lay the foundation for a better world, which is exactly what the brave men and women who serve our country do everyday.

 

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    Jeff McCaffrey

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