Monty Tech Junior ROTC cadets reach out to Texans in need.

By Paula J. Owen
Correspondent 

 

FITCHBURG — Retired U.S. Marine Corps First Sgt. Paul Jornet said he has told the story countless times of participating in the Valor Walkers team a few years ago in Wharton, Texas.

When Mr. Jornet saw the destruction Hurricane Harvey recently wreaked in the little-known town, the Marine instructor in charge of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School said he knew he had to do something to help.

Mr. Jornet said he visited the small town of 8,700 people south of Houston in 2014 with three other Marines who were honoring Marine Master Sgt. Michael Pena, who received recently the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions in Korea in 1950.

“Mr. Pena’s grandson, John Pena, was one of my TOW gunners in the First Battalion Fourth Marines back in the mid-’90s,” Mr. Jornet said. “John Pena and two other Marines had decided that they wanted to honor (Michael) Pena by walking one mile for each year that has passed since his act of courage.”

Mr. Jornet was asked to join them and the four Marines — known as the Valor Walkers — walked 64 miles in June, 2014, on back roads in Wharton and other nearby towns, he said.

“As we walked through the back country roads of southwest Texas, I saw so much,” he said. “I witnessed pride. Pride that Mike Pena was their hero. Pride that he walked their streets. Pride that he went to their schools, and pride that he called that part of Texas home.

“I’ve told the story of Mike Pena a thousand times in the past few years, so as I watched the news about the destruction brought on by Hurricane Harvey, I knew that I had to somehow be involved in restoring hope to a people who have so little and lost so much,” he said.

After consulting with the Marine Corps JROTC cadets, the superintendent, School Committee and other administrators, Mr. Jornet put together five teams of 10 cadets and five chaperones to travel to Wharton to help rebuild homes for families over February school vacation.

“Our winter vacation was far enough away for the recovery operation to become fully engaged and for needs to be identified,” he said. “Each of our teams will be able to accomplish a list of tasks from hanging sheet rock to interior and exterior painting. We have two contacts on the ground in Texas that have been developing the work projects.”

He said they have a list of seven homes to assist with rebuilding so far, that he expects will reach 15 by the time they leave in February.

 

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