Hometown Hero: Military Missions

Mark Roland is a Veteran and Gold Star Father

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A man who is movitated by his own military career and son who was killed in action also spends his time volunteering with the nonprofit Military Missions. He’s a member of its’ board of directors.

Every year, Mark Roland joins volunteers for Operation SEND Christmas to help pack up care packages for our deployed service men and women.

“Candy bags, hygiene bags, snack bags, playing cards, puzzle books,” explained Roland. “So that at least they’ve got something to open on Christmas.”

A Veteran himself, Roland retired a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force after 30 years of service.

“I know how much it means to know that the people back home care about what you’re doing. It’s to make sure that those men and women that are away from home, especially on holiday’s are remembered,” explained Roland.

Roland is also a Gold Star father. His son Matthew was killed in action in 2015.

“It’s the knock on the door at 3:45 in the morning that no parent ever wants to receive,” said Roland tearfully.

Matthew was deployed to Afghanistan, working with the Green Beret unit, when they were attacked on their way back to their base.

“His legacy of service, his sacrifice is with us everyday and that’s part of why I do what I do here,” said Roland. “It’s to serve those service men and women that are following his footsteps that are serving as he served.”

Christmas is typically the busiest time for Military Missions when Roland says they ship out more than 1,550 care packages. However, the work continues year round, “In any given year, we send about 8,000 care packages.”

For Roland, its’ a service he’s dedicated to in or out of uniform.

“As a Veteran, we’ve dedicated part of our adult lives to service and that attitude, that desire to serve never goes away. So, whether it’s in uniform or out of uniform, we continue to serve and I continue to serve,” said Roland.

Another example of service, before Roland retired from the U.S. Air Force, he also commanded the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Kentucky.

For more information on Military Missions and how the organization started, click HERE.

If you know a Hometown Hero, submit a nomination HERE or email ABC 36’s Erica Bivens: ebivens@wtvq.com.