Local Vets Honor Fallen Hero At "Let Us Never Forget" Fundraiser

The annual fundraiser raises money for scholarships in the name of Matt Maupin.

Brett Bondurant, Keith Maupin, Jerry Bondurant and Tim Kieffer.

(Loveland, Oh.) - It was a night of remembrance for a fallen hero.

The 14th annual Let Us Never Forget Scholarship fundraiser was held at the Oasis Conference Center in Loveland, Ohio on Saturday.

The event was started by Keith Maupin after his son, Matt Maupin, went Missing In Action on April 9, 2004 in Iraq. Matt’s body was found almost four years later and returned to the U.S. for his funeral in April 2008.

Over the past 12 years, the scholarship fund in Matt’s name has awarded over $700,000.

That total should increase drastically, considering over 800 people attended Saturday night’s fundraiser.

Several Gold Star Family members were in attendance, including Rene Cross, Gold Star mother of Zachary S. Salmon, buried at Aurora’s River View Cemetery; Linda Seig, Gold Star mother of Anthony P. Seig, an East Central High School graduate; Charlie and Shorty Booker, Gold Star parents of Kenneth “KR” Booker, from Vevay.

The event also featured guest speaker Dustin Row, who was on the fateful convoy in Iraq with Matt Maupin.

“It’s a sad time when you look through the program for the event and see the photos of over 100 who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan from our area,” said P.G. Gentrup. “And as the program has on the front, Let Us Never Forget. God Bless these fallen heroes and their families.”