Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind.
“LtCol Tom "Bull" Budrejko, USMC was a AH-1W Cobra pilot and veteran of numerous combat tours. He had a fondness and talent for training others and loved being an attack helicopter pilot.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“Jay was an incredible dad and amazing husband!”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“Adan's life is remembered with happiness and love.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“SSGT Michael Logan Pope, 30, of Oceanside, California, formerly of Jonesboro, Arkansas, passed away Thursday, January 20, 2022. He graduated from Nettleton High School in 2009. Logan joined the United States Marine Corps in 2013 as a machine gunner. Logan went on to become a Marine Corps Water Instructor, Helicopter Rope Suspension Techniques Instructor, and a Drill Instructor, which is one of the most looked upon achievements because it is the most demanding duty. During his eight years of service, Logan received numerous decorations and awards, including The Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM). This is a decoration presented by the United States Department of the Navy to service members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps who have performed commendably in routine duties or exceptional achievements. In his spare time, Logan enjoyed gaming and riding motorcycles, but his true hobby was muscle cars. He loved working on cars, particularly his Chevrolet Camaro. Logan was the son of Martin Pope and Shannon Stroud. He was preceded in death by his papaw, Hal Wayne Yarbrough. Survivors include his wife of seven years, Andrea Pope; sons, Ryker and Jude.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“My daughter and I lost her father and my husband before she was two years old. I knew him since I was 10, and we were married for 10 years. But a prolonged, untreated condition of PTSD ended in the most unfortunate way. I, in turn, now have the PTSD, I battle at it every day, with finding gratitude with the time we had together.. We miss him immensely. And though I am grateful to be able to look in the eyes, so similar to those that used to look at me, it is heartbreaking that he cannot watch her grow.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“To know Daniel was to love Daniel. He was so special to me and Ethan. We miss him everyday, but are thankful for every minute we were together. Daniel was saved in Afghanistan 7 weeks before he was killed. We are so thankful that we will see him in heaven again one day.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“Tristan was creative, intelligent and adventurous. He loved the outdoors, his kids, and writing. We both went to art school when Alice was a baby, and she spent a lot of time with us in the clay studio. Tristan was a dedicated marine with a beautiful mind.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“John was my high school sweetheart and best friend. Together, we were raising our two sons and making plans for our future. He deployed and never came home, but I do my best to honor his legacy every day and he remains in our hearts.”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
“Aaron was the love of my life”
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
Maj. James M. Brophy, 36, was among five Marines who died in a military plane crash off Japan’s southern coast on December 6, 2018.
James Brophy, a KC-130J pilot and a decorated, twice-deployed combat veteran was born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1982. He grew up in Hyde Park, graduated in 2001 before attending the University of Rhode Island and earning his bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in 2005. He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in the summer of 2005 and was commissioned into the Marine Corps. In April of 2009, James earned his gold wings and the title of Naval Aviator in Corpus Christi, Texas. He spent much of his Marine Corps career in North Carolina as a pilot for VMGR-252, then an instructor at the KC-130J Fleet Replacement Detachment (FRD). He then attended the Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia, graduating with a Master of Military Studies, before receiving orders that brought him and his family to Iwakuni, Japan in the summer of 2018.
He left his 4-year-old son, and 1-year-old daughter. There was never any doubt how much James loved his family. It didn’t matter what time James came home from work, he had time and energy to be the fun dad and the loving husband he was. It wasn’t uncommon to see him pulling his young children through the neighborhood in their wagon early on a Sunday morning or playing soccer with his son in front of their home until the sun went down.
James was adventurous, humble, caring, and he always had a smile on his face — one that his family, friends, and colleagues couldn’t help but mirror when they were around him. He simply was the BEST husband, father, uncle, son, and brother. We miss him so very much every day and I want to ensure his children don’t forget the great HERO he was.
His decorations include the Air Medal with two Strike Flight Awards, one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and one Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
Lieutenant Colonel Mario “Sugar Bear” Carazo, USMC, was lost to enemy action in Afghanistan, on July 22, 2010. His AH-1W Cobra was shot down while supporting Marines engaged in a firefight. He was 41 years old.
Born on May 25, 1969 in Inglewood, California, Mario entered the United States Naval Academy where he graduated in 1991, with a B.S. in History, as a member of the 19th Company.
Mario went on to fly the AH-1W Cobra with the World Famous HMLA-369 “Gunfighters” at Camp Pendleton, CA. He did two Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) deployments, followed by a tour as an instructor at the Fleet Replenishment Squadron. He attended the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, VA, and then went back to Camp Pendleton for another tour as a “Gunfighter”.
“Sugar Bear” attended the United States Naval War College, Newport, RI as a Major, where he received an M.A. in National Security and Strategy. He was not satisfied with one M.A., so he attended the School of Advanced Warfighting in Quantico and received his second in Operational Studies. He took this new found knowledge, and as only he could do, applied it on another deployment – in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in December 2007 and returned from Iraq in August 2008 to Camp Pendleton, becoming the Executive Officer of MAG-39, and ultimately the Commanding Officer of Headquarters Squadron 39. He then deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Mario spent his life focusing on taking care of the people in his life. There was always the “Sugar Bear” smile to pick you up, or the “What’s going on, kid,” to begin a bull session, but there was the certainty that he would do whatever was possible to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone he cared about – his family, both immediate and extended.
Lieutenant Colonel Carazo’s personal decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, and Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold star.
Sugar Bear Foundation Honors the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country while we support the spouses and children they leave behind. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the programs we offer.
