The Fordham Prep
Alumni Veterans Network

Veterans for Others

The goal of this group is to connect Fordham Prep’s wide network of alumni veterans - those who have answered the call to be “men for others” through service to their country.

The Veterans Council’s mission is to support and mobilize the talents, resources and experiences of the Fordham Prep community’s veterans to benefit the Prep, its students and its veterans.

Fordham Prep
Veterans Committee

Jack Bergen ’60, US Army
Gerry Byrne ’62, US Marine Corps
Charlie Brusco ’17, US Army
Jimmy Corbett ’99, US Marine Corps (Chair)
Ralph Dengler ’84, US Marine Corps

Connect

Veteran's Network Registry

Join us! If you’re an Alumni and a Veteran, fill out the registration form to be connected with fellow Rams who have served.

Required

In May 2023, the Veterans Network debuted "Military Vocation Day," a day where the Prep invites Alumni Veterans to come speak to the Class of 2024 as they begin the search for the next phase of their life. Modeled on Jesuit Vocation Day, which the Prep hosts each fall, on Military Vocation Day, Veterans address small groups of the Junior Class.

The goal of these discussions will be for Veterans to talk about their own decision to serve and the path of their military and post-military career, and offer insight to any students also considering a career in the military, with the opportunity to answer any questions the students might have.

If you're interested in participating in Military Vocation Day, please fill out the Veterans Network Registry form.

Student Awards

Fordham Prep gives two service-based awards to qualifying seniors:

Jesuit Veterans Service
Award

On May 24, 2022, the Veterans Network, in collaboration with our Jesuit colleagues at BC High, debuted the Fordham Prep Jesuit Veterans Service Award.

This award is presented on the Senior Awards Day to an extraordinary young man based on community service and nominated by Fordham Prep Faculty.

The History and Importance of the Veterans Service Award

The History and Importance of the Veterans Service Award

The emphasis of the Veterans Service Award is:

to encourage public service as a means of developing the whole person
to highlight the responsibilities of citizenship in our democracy
to promote selfless service, an ideal embodied by service in the Armed Forces of the United States.

The Fordham Prep Veterans Alumni Network conceived the creation of the Award and sponsors it annually. In a unique partnership, the Prep co-launched the Award with colleagues from BC High in Boston. The Fordham Prep Veterans Committee was joined by BC High graduates, General Joseph Dunford USMC and General George Casey USA, to define and shape the core of this special honor.

Recipients of the Fordham Prep Jesuit Veterans Service Award:

2023 - Nicholas Racette, Loyola University
2022 - Denzel Herrera, Manhattan College

Donate to the Veterans Network Award

Staff Sergeant Robert C. Murray ’64 Award

Robert (Bob) Murray, Fordham Prep Class of 1964, was a genial, prayerful, and genuine young man. Upon graduation from Fordham University, he began studies at Harvard Business School, then opted to enlist in the U.S. Army. While serving in Vietnam, he was awarded Bronze Stars for heroism for two separate actions, resulting in promotion to Staff Sergeant.

Learn More About the Murray Award

Learn More About the Murray Award

One June 7, 1970, while on patrol, Bob sacrificed his life by throwing himself onto a live grenade to save the soldiers he led. For his extraordinary valor, he was posthumously awarded our country’s highest military recognition – The Medal of Honor.

The Murray Award, symbolized by a medallion inscribed with the words “Courage, Love, Sacrifice”, also includes a scholarship for college, and an honorary membership in the Class of 1964. It was established by his classmates and family so that each year, the Prep community might reflect on Bob’s devotion to his country, courage, love for his neighbor, and final sacrifice. His promising life and magnanimous death point us to our better selves.

To date, the Prep community has collectively contributed $184,064.00 to the Robert C. Murray Award Fund.

The Robert C. Murray Award recognizes that member of the senior class who has best exemplified the qualities of the man for whom it is named.

Recipients of the Robert C. Murray Award

2023 - Adam Dworakowski, Georgetown
2022 - Marcus Petterson, Wheaton College
2021 - Richard Alaimo, Villanova
2020 - Michael McCrory, Boston College
2019 - John Greco, Boston College
2018 - Michael Sexton, Wisconsin
2017 - Owen Lombardi, Notre Dame

Donate to the murray award

Tommy Zurhellen '87: VetZero & The Low Row

Tommy Zurhellen, author of The Low Road: Walking the Walk for Veterans, talks about the voices of the amazing folks he meets, in their own words, on his trip across the country. All net proceeds from the limited "VetZero Heroes Edition" will benefit Hudson River Housing’s VetZero Heroes Program to help veterans. His epic adventure across America from start to finish is expressed in this humorous and humbling memoir about one veteran trying to make a difference!

VetZero

Hudson River Housing believes that those who serve our country deserve the highest level of care, including quality, affordable housing. They strive to meet the needs of our veteran community through specialized housing, transportation, advocacy and care management. Through their VetZero Services for Veterans, they’re on a mission to reach ZERO veteran suicides and ZERO veteran homelessness in our community – and hopefully, in our nation.

Learn More

The Fordham Prep Alumni Veterans Network