IMPERIAL, Mo. — 5 On Your Side is a proud partner of Folds of Honor. It's an organization that provides college scholarships to families of fallen or wounded military members. From now until July 4, you can donate to Folds of Honor by rounding up at the register at Schnucks.
On Friday, the Today in St. Louis crew recognized the Kombey family. Med and his wife Felicite are originally from the western African nation of Togo but now live in Imperial, Missouri.
Med is a military veteran, serving six years in the Army. He said the events of 9/11 made him want to enlist.
"If America is attacked that means the world is attacked, so I decided at that point that I needed to help," Med said.
Years later, he moved to America and in 2011 he enlisted. His distinguished career includes five years as an Airborne Ranger, which took him all over the world.
"We train, deploy, rest for a couple of months, train, deploy rest... it was really hectic," Med said.
The demanding job took a toll on his body. He hurt his back in an Airborne operation and still deals with the pain today.
"Sometimes in the morning I'll just call work and say I can't come to work because of the pain," Med said.
His sacrifice and service is being recognized by Folds of Honor. Med's wife is a recent scholarship recipient. She receives $5,000 a year to help her pay for the accounting degree she's pursuing at Maryville University.
"It's a blessing for our family," Felicite said.
Med, who now works for the Department of Defense in cyber security, said the scholarship to help his wife reach her dreams couldn't have come at a better time.
The Kombeys said they'll pay it forward. They plan on being part of the organization to help others in the future. They are grateful to Folds of Honor and to those who donate to the cause.
"$5,000 a year is a lot, so thank you very much for them," Felicite said.
"What you're doing is putting a seed in the ground that will grow... When you round up your dollar you are making America better," said Med.
In addition to rounding up at the register at Schnucks, donations can also be made through the St. Louis chapter of Folds of Honor.