Page 54 - ACTL_Fall23
P. 54
FOUNDATION UPDATE
EACH YEAR THE ACTL FOUNDATION NOT ONLY FUNDS THE EMIL GUMPERT AWARD, INCREASED LAST YEAR TO $150,000, BUT ALSO CONSIDERS THE GUMPERT RUNNERS-UP FOR POSSIBLE AWARDS. THIS YEAR ONE OF THOSE RUNNERS-UP WAS A VETERANS DISABIL- ITY ADVOCACY GROUP, PROJECT ONE VET @ A TIME (POVAT).
POVAT’s foundation story is the story of Command Chief Master Sergeant Will Markham, the high- ly decorated combat veteran who co-founded PO- VAT. Markham’s job, as a Combat Controller, was to deploy – undetected – into hostile territory to conduct reconnaissance and to establish assault zones and air- fields. Markham was the first Air Force member on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11 and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action.
Upon Markham’s retirement in 2016 after thirty-one years in the Air Force, the Veterans’ Administration (VA) initially determined that he was 100% disabled as a result of the severe physical injuries and psycho- logical damage that he had sustained. Nonetheless, the
53
JOURNAL
