Leave No Veteran Behind

Leave No Veteran Behind was founded by two veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, Roy Brown and Eli Williamson. Both founding directors hail from Chicago, IL, and after graduating high school they attended Luther College in Decorah, IA. During college they both joined the US Army Reserves and were assigned to the 389th Engineering Battalion. During their senior year of college their reserve unit was activated to go to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Eli was able to complete his degree because he joined the active duty Army and attended the Special Warfare Training Center at Ft. Bragg North Carolina for the psychological operations (PSYOP) course. After completing the PSYOP course he was assigned to the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne). He then deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequently, he was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

When the 389th was called up, Roy was forced to put a halt to his education and deploy with the reserve unit.  When Roy returned from Iraq he completed his degree in business administration and became a district manager for Aldi Corporation in the Baltimore area, where he administered daily operations for several stores.

During their time in the service and in the private sector they both struggled to pay educational loans from college because they were not covered under any military programs for educational debt repayment. Initially, they thought they were the only ones who had this problem, but after countless conversations with other frustrated veterans they found that they were not alone. After much thought and planning they decided to form Leave No Veteran Behind.  They hope to ensure that no veteran will ever again fight to pay for an education that has already been paid for twice – once by their own sacrifice, and again by the sacrifice of their families.