John,

At his school’s career day, seven-year-old Cole McNorrill wore his mother’s dog tags and Army uniform. His dream is to be a soldier, like his mom, when he grows up.

But his mother — Ashley McNorrill — will never have the chance to see her son’s dream come true.

In 2012, when Cole and his twin brother, Fletcher, were just two months old, Ashley was blindsided by a devastating diagnosis — she had stage 4 appendiceal cancer. As an Army JAG officer, Ashley had been deployed to Iraq in 2005. While stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad, she was exposed to the base’s burn pits — and toxic burn pit exposure has been linked to rare cancers, like the type with which Ashley had been diagnosed.

With medical bills adding up and their young children requiring care, Ashley and her husband, David, reached out to DAV for help. DAV helped Ashley secure a permanent and total VA disability rating. In their final years together, her family was able to focus on making lasting memories, and she had the comfort of knowing she was leaving a legacy for her sons’ futures.

Like so many other brave service members, Ashley McNorrill made the ultimate sacrifice for our country — she succumbed to service-related cancer in 2016.

This Memorial Day, honor fallen heroes like Ashley by making a special Memorial Day gift to DAV. Your gift will help honor our fallen, and it will ensure today’s veterans get critical care and support when they need it the most.

J. Marc Burgess
DAV National Adjutant/CEO