Rep. Dean Arp (R-Union) and Sen. Harry Brown (R-Onslow) filed a bill today that would provide $1 million in grant money to fund college scholarships for children of military service members who are killed or gravely injured while on active duty.

Under House Bill 475 and its companion, Senate Bill 376, the North Carolina Patriot Star Family Scholarship Program would be administered over a period of two years by the Patriot Foundation, a N.C.-based non-profit group that has already provided more than 1,800 scholarships to the children of fallen and disabled soldiers since it was founded in 2003.

With the fourth largest active duty military population of any state, North Carolina is home to a disproportionate number of families who have had loved ones killed or wounded in the Global War on Terror. The Foundation estimates that, when PTSD and traumatic brain injury cases are taken into account, the number of casualties since 2001 from Ft. Bragg alone could be 50,000.

“The families of these fallen and disabled soldiers are living in our midst right now and we must help them,” said Arp.“What better way to honor those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice than to support the families they’ve left behind? It’s really a moral imperative.”

Brown agreed that we have a duty to support the families of those who defend our nation.

“For the parents who have to fac the possibility of being deployed to dangerous war zones, let’s at least let them know that we stand ready to support them and their families,” Brown said.

The Patriot Foundation is an all-volunteer organization that is GuideStar Gold-level certified for transparency, with well over 90 percent of the funds they raise going directly to help soldiers’ families. It is managed and advised by some of our most decorated retired military leaders, and it is supported by more than two dozen major corporate sponsors.

“This is truly important work. We’ve found the right partner to do it with,”said Arp.