6247 IS MILITARY LINGO FOR HAVING SOMEONE'S 6 - THEIR BACK - 24/7
Supporter Stories
Below is a collection of voices from the 6247 movement. These are the personal accounts, experiences, and moments shared by our community of supporters and individuals dedicated to the message of having each other's back, 24/7. Read through these stories and discover the impact of simple acts of kindness.
Richard F
To my good fortune, and that of many of my fellow veterans, I met retired Air Force veteran at a PGA HOPE Golf Training seminar. I am a Marine wounded on 17 September 1969 on Mutter’s Ridge, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. I had 19 holes in my colon from a mortar round resulting in three surgeries. I returned weighing 103 pounds to an indifferent and critical nation that didn’t recognize or appreciate the trauma, pain and emotional weight all Vietnam veterans experienced. The impact that 6247 has had on me is one of the most gratifying things I have had in the 57 years since I received my Purple Heart. The 6247 message is profound and has provided me, and many of my veteran friends, care, comfort and camaraderie. Wearing 6247 is a visual, nonverbal message that reflects the appreciation, courage and sacrifice each veteran has earned in service to the United States of America. In some cases it is a lifeline for those men and women who have served and suffered the invisible emotional scars they have encountered in the military. I strongly recommend , and hope, that every veteran in our nation receive and wear their 6247, like me and my friends, with pride and dignity they so richly deserve.
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Bonnie L
This is a message to all those who have served, and those that are still surviving to protect our country. I extend my sincere thanks to every man and woman for continuously providing us our safety as a nation. God Bless the USA
Rick F
On 17 September 1969, on Mutter’s Ridge in the DMZ, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam my unit, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, engaged the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). They were attempting to escape over the boarder into North Vietnam. We were flown into a hot Landing Zone (LZ) as a reactionary force reinforcing another unit hit the night before. I was the 2nd platoon radio operator. After the entire day of battle our units had about thirty KIA and more wounded. The NVA suffered more casualties. It was an extremely hot and humid day that gave way to short torrential downpours off and on. The sun was brilliant making the sucking mud miserable. I survived the entire firefight unscathed until our medivac came in to land at the LZ. The first NVA mortar landed on the opposite side of the chopper. I found cover next to a downed tree trunk about eight inches in diameter. I was in a fetal position lying next to the log. The second round came in behind me, sounding like a freight train, spewing razor hot shrapnel into my left foot, left leg, right buttocks and abdomen. I was left with nineteen holes in my sigmoid colon. On the USS Sanctuary Naval Hospital ship I had two surgeries. One exploratory to remove the shrapnel. I still carry some within me. The other was to relieve the extreme abdominal pain. I was given a colostomy. After ten days aboard ship I was medivaced to the U.S. Naval Hospital on Guam where my colostomy was reversed. On 10 November, the Marine Corps birthday, I landed at Hanscom Field and was taken, by ambulance, to Chelsea Naval Hospital. I weighed 103 pounds, but the weight of the mental and emotional scars of battle during these fifty-seven years has been much greater. In all this time I have found tremendous meaning and solace from helping our veterans through two groups. One being PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) that provides free golf lessons, rounds of golf and equipment to all veterans. The other is the extraordinary message that is 6247. Veterans are recognized and uplifted beyond measure when they are given and wear their 6247 unique shirts. Their service and sacrifices represents the highest qualities of devotion and courage to the greatest nation ever to exist on God’s green earth…the United States of America!
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Below is a collection of voices from the 6247 movement. These are the personal accounts, experiences, and moments shared by our community of supporters and individuals dedicated to the message of having each other's back, 24/7. Read through these stories and discover the impact of simple acts of kindness.
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