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HeroVet:
Greg
Islan 
 Millions of Americans carry
the heavy burden of making college tuition payments
in an era of skyrocketing educational expenses. We
all need help, but for the families of fallen servicemen,
sending children to college can be an extraordinary
challenge. Greg Islan’s
goal is to meet that critical challenge, offering financial
assistance to dependents surviving the death of a parent
in uniform. His hard work and persistence in promoting
this program sends a strong, patriotic message and
demonstrates his resolve to stand behind the men and
women who protect and defend our freedoms and care
for those left behind.
The Connecticut native stepped away from the comforts
of the corporate world to support the difficult world
shared by these families of heroes. As Executive Director
of The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, which
was founded in 2002 in Greenwich, CT, his mission is
to provide college scholarships and educational counseling
to the children of military personnel who were killed
in the line of duty.
“These are things we don’t even think about in our nice comfortable
lives,” he says explaining his move to the position, in an exclusive
interview with Veterans Advantage. “[Some of]
the children will never know their dads, but families
go on, the mothers (and fathers) go on and keep their
lives together.”
His admiration for these steadfast
families runs deep. The Vietnam Veteran and former
photojournalist with the 101st Airborne, has witnessed
the price of war. The foundation is also organized
to support peacetime casualties, such as those lost
in training accidents. These little publicized deaths,
felt deeply by the families, underscore the fact that
every year hundreds of service men and women are killed
in non-headline-grabbing events like plane and helicopter
crashes, ground accidents and mishaps at sea.
“We honor the professionalism, patriotism and selfless spirit of the
members of our Armed Forces and are dedicated to caring for the families they
must sometimes leave behind,” says the foundation’s
Web site, which takes Enrollment Forms online. Veterans
Advantage members who are in need of these services are invited to click here.
There are many sources
of college educational grants for the children of
fallen service members, but many fall short of the
funding needed. Thankfully, there’s
the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, for instance,
that performs many of these services for families of
Marines. The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation,
likewise, aims to fill that similar gap for families
from all branches of service.
The foundation also offers
counseling services on finding other sources of financial
aid and the college application process. Sometimes,
the service involves the simple things like just
compiling and organizing checklists. “Many
people are still in shock,” Islan says. “We
try to help fill the void in this area.”
PASSION FOR SUPPORTING EDUCATION
 Greg considers special
support for higher education
a passion. He is a graduate of
Colgate Darden Graduate School
of Business Administration, University
of Virginia and Gettysburg College
(1970), where he does fundraising
and is Secretary of the Alumni Board. Gettysburg honored
him in 2005 with a Meritorious
Service Award for his civic contributions,
for service to his community
and to the College. He also does
fundraising work for Dartmouth
and Williams Colleges, where
his two daughters attend and
his son will attend next year.
He has been involved with
fundraising and continues on the board of Heart Care
International which provides heart surgery and cardiac
assistance to children and training for doctors in
Guatemala, Dominican Republic and, now, El Salvador. He
continues to be involved in senior care, youth, church
and volunteering in his local community.
Graduating first in his class at the Defense Information
School, the training center for military journalists,
Islan served as a Combat Correspondent in Vietnam with
the 101st Airborne Division and the Army Support Command.
Later, he served in the Public Information Office at
the US Military Academy at West Point.
But it’s the service of helping surviving families
which has now given him his greatest pleasure, inspired
by families’ desire to thrive as well as survive. “The
families are great. They are working hard to move ahead.
[And] there’s never an unkind word,” he
says. “It's amazing to me how many of these people
are trying to be self-sufficient and to move forward
with their lives.”
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