On behalf of the Rangers of 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, thank you for your generous contributions to our unit while deployed in support of the Global War on Terror. We are humbled by your support in memory of SGT James J. Regan who honorably served our nation.
The Lead The Way Fund, the Regan Family, and the community of Manhasset, NY continue to provide inspiration and a small taste of home to deployed Rangers in combat. Our Rangers share the same enthusiasm for the items that SGT Regan enjoyed himself. Your desire to serve is a reflection of the spirit and patriotism which makes this great Nation strong, and serves as an example for our young Rangers.
Your contributions in honor of SGT James J. Regan do credit to your organization, the Regan Family and the community of Manhasset, NY. Your thoughts and prayers for teh Rangers of 1st Ranger Battalion are greatly appreciated as we continue our fight against the enemies of this great Nation!
Army Ranger Lead The Way Fund will have slots again at the Tobay Triathlon. Please email [email protected] with interest. More information to follow.
When: Saturday, August 23, 2014
What: The TOBAY Triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 15 k bike and a 5k run)
Where: Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park, Oyster Bay, New York
Racing Requirements
To be considered for a slot on Team Army Ranger please email your indication of interest to [email protected] by FRIDAY, JULY 25.
* Please note that in order to qualify for a Lead The Way Fund slot each contestant is asked to raise $500. We will discuss multi-race participants on an individual basis.
** Each entrant will receive a LTWF gear bag including a LTWF visor and a LTWF light-weight running top.
We look forward to your participation and we thank you for the support!
The Lead The Way Fund is pleased to announce that, through the Army Ten-Miler Military Community Partner Program, we have been able to secure slots again at the Army Ten-Miler on Sunday, October 20, 2013 in Washington, DC.
We hope that you will either join Team Army Ranger and race for us or just come out and cheer for our racers. The Lead The Way Fund will have a tent at the pre-race Expo at the DC Armory which will further raise awareness for the work we do on behalf of our U.S. Army Rangers and their families.
Lead The Way Fund will also have a tent immediately following the race in the Hooah Tent Zone.
When: Sunday, October 20, 2013
What: The Army Ten Miler
Where: The Pentagon – Arlington, VA
Racing Requirements
To be considered for a Lead The Way Fund slot please email your indication of interest to [email protected] by June 15, 2013.
* Please note that in order to qualify for a slot on Team Army Ranger each participant is asked to raise a minimum of $750. Once you have been registered we will provide you with the information to set up your individual fundraising page on the FirstGiving fundraising website.
*Each entrant will also be responsible for the $65 race entry fee which can be donated to LTWF as part of your fundraising efforts.
** Each participant will receive Lead The Way Fund gear including a visor, a light-weight running top and a gear bag.
We look forward to your participation and we thank you for the support!
In appreciation for your continued support of the Regimental Special Troops Battalion. Thank you for your generous contributions to our Ranger families. Please accept our sincere gratitude for your contributions to support the Rangers and their families.
-The Rangers, NCO’s and Officers of the Special Troops Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment
Charlie Company, from within the 1st Ranger Battalion, would like to fully extend our true thankfulness and appreciation for the generous donation that you have made to our Company’s Family Readiness Group. Our Company has worked hard throughout the last year, holding many Company fundraisers with the hopes to raise enough funds so that we may provide positive activities and events for the families within our Company. We can honestly say that without your gracious donation, we would not have been able to provide the amount of morale events within the past year that we did; and we are completely humbled by your generosity and kindness.
Because of your donation, we have been able to provide numerous events for the wives and family members of our Rangers during the multiple deployments that are experienced as “routine” among Ranger families. Our Company FRG has been able to extend invitations to family dinners, seasonal festivities and other social events that help to create a sense of “normalcy” during a very abnormal time for so many within our Company. The Fall Festival that we held during deployment helped to bring together wives and children for fun activities, as well as create an opportunity for the social and emotional bonding that is crucial during times of deployment and separation from our loved ones. The monthly dinners that we have been able to provide help to bring together the wives within our Company and have ultimately helped to create friendships that will last not only during deployments, but for a lifetime.
We have also been able to utilize the funds that you and the Lead The Way Fund have donated in order to send our condolences to family members of our Fallen Rangers. Throughout this past year, we have experience a tremendous amount of compassion towards the families of the three Rangers that our own Company has lost: SSG Kevin Pape, SGT Martin Lugo and SPC Christopher Wright; and it has been through the use of your donation that we have been able to express our emotions and support through the purchasing of flowers and personal gifts for these incredible families.
I do not feel as though we will ever be able to express, through words, what your generous donation has been able to afford us; but we can honestly say that the opportunities that we have been able to offer our Ranger families would not have been possible without the presence of your donation and the presence of your kindness and compassion. Thank you for all that you have done and for all that you do for the families of Rangers; your continuous gifts help to create bonds, experiences and memories that strengthen us both as individuals and as a whole within the entire Ranger Family.
Sincerely,
Charlie Company Family Readiness Group – 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
I wanted to take this time to formally thank you, your family, and the Lead The Way Fund for your generous contributions to the E Co. Ranger family. Your contributions have allowed the E Co. Family to build a stronger bond amongst each other, but more importantly provide a heartfelt appreciation to the men and women for their hard work as a Support Company for the Best Battalion in the United States Army. We are blessed and thankful to have you and your organization in our lives and we don not take your actions for granted, nor treat them as an expectation, but rather a wonderful gesture and unmatched commitment you have to not only our Ranger family, but the entire Ranger family, most importantly the Gold Star Family members who have given their son in support of our cause and will NEVER be forgotten. It is people like yourself and your family that make the Ranger Regiment the greatest organization in the world and an honor to be a part of. I just hope that E Co. can continue to make you proud and hold the selflessness value that you entrust in us and personally exercise daily! Always remember that your son holds a special place in our hearts and WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN…it is men like him that I thank God for bringing into this world to set a standard and an expectation of what a complete Ranger, Leader and Man needs to resemble for others to follow! Again, your contributions are of the highest level of generosity and selfless service and are appreciated at all levels of our our Ranger family. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO.
If you had told anyone what had happened on the back lacrosse field at Manhasset High School Saturday afternoon between Chaminade and the Indians, they probably would have said you were making it up or that it was scripted out of a Hollywood feel-good movie, too good to be true.
The Flyers took the 10-3 victory – that was believable and expected, given their dominance this year – but how they got there still makes the tale.
Before the season, senior attacker Ryan Lukacovic was awarded the No. 19 jersey based on a vote of his teammates, the same number Jimmy Regan, a Manhasset native, had worn as a member of the Flyers before going to Duke and winning a pair of ACC championships for the Blue Devils. Regan later became of the U.S. Army Rangers, the special forces division, only to lose his life in Iraq in February 2007 during his fourth tour of duty at the age of 26.
“We miss Jimmy dramatically, obviously, it’s something that you don’t get over, but you learn to deal with it,” said his father, James Sr. after the match.
“When you look back at it, what can I say – I lost my son. I don’t want to get into politics with you, I don’t want to do all that, but it’s terrible when you lose somebody like that.”
Regan, who is also a coach for the Flyers, started the “Lead the Way” fund to help families and discharged members of the Rangers and Chaminade and Manhasset play a non-league game each year that also acts as a fundraising event for the non-profit.
And there in the middle of it all was No. 19, fittingly scoring the first goal of the game. The three-year varsity player would go on to score another goal and another, notching his latest hat trick this season.
“Ryan shows a lot of poise out there, he’s going to be a tremendous player down at the University of Virginia,” Regan would say after handing back “Reg’s Rock” – the black-quartz trophy bestowed upon the winner of the annual game – to the Flyers, who now stand even with the Indians, having won it each three times.
“It’s great to get a win for him,” Lukacovic would say, his words vague enough to apply to either father or son.
Under Armour had also made sure that several Chaminade players dressed the part, sending star-spangled cleats to Tim Muller, Tom Zenker and John “Shoeless” McDaid in honor of Regan.
The sun even made a cameo appearance, parting the grey overcast in the fourth, a heavenly ovation for the Flyers as the clock wound down on another dominating performance.
“I definitely thought about it after it happened,” Lukacovic said after the win about opening the scoring. “It was definitely Jim looking down on me. I pointed to coach Regan so I just had a feeling Jimmy was definitely involved, that wasn’t just another goal.”
Wearing the No. 19 jersey as Jimmy Regan once did, in the annual matchup against Manhasset dedicated to the former Flyer, Ryan Lukacovic smiled at Chaminade assistant coach James Regan after scoring the game’s first goal.
“I definitely thought about it after it happened and I thought it was definitely Jimmy looking down on me,” Lukacovic said. “I pointed to coach Regan and thought Jimmy was definitely involved. This was unbelievable.”
Jimmy Regan was a Manhasset native and All-American lacrosse player for Chaminade. He graduated in 1998 and led Duke to two ACC championships. He died in Iraq during his fourth tour of duty as an U.S. Army Ranger in February 2007. Regan’s father, James Sr., established the “Lead the Way” fund to honor his son’s memory and Chaminade and Manhasset have played a game for the past six years that also acts as a fundraiser for the foundation.
Led by Lukacovic’s hat trick, Chaminade defeated host Manhasset Saturday, 10-3, in the non-league contest and evened up the annual series known as “Reg’s Rock,” at three games apiece.
Longtime Chaminade coach Jack Moran said the senior attack’s character, work ethic and service to the school epitomized what Jimmy Regan stood for and therefore made it an easy choice to bestow the No. 19 upon him before the season. Matt Graham wore the number last year before graduating.
“Ryan’s the best athlete in the school and yet he’s the manager of the band,” Moran said. “We’re really happy that he’s leading us right now.”
Chaminade led 5-1 at halftime, playing fast, but also playing smart. John McDaid scored two goals, and Jonathan Patterson and John Tigh each had one in addition to Lukacovic’s three.
Lukacovic scored three minutes into the second half. He notched his third a few minutes later after coming from behind the net to put Chaminade ahead 7-1 and put the game away. McDaid finished with three goals and Tigh had two for the Flyers.
Kris Clarke won 13 of 17 faceoffs and Chaminade rarely turned the ball over, racking up possessions and maximizing the clock.
Duke-bound goalie Danny Fowler didn’t receive much action as a result, but relished playing a game in honor of a hero who had ties to Fowler’s present and future schools.
“I was told Jimmy was a guy who made you want to be the best you can be and it just drives you to want to play your best for a game like this,” Fowler said.
Wearing cleats displaying an American flag design in honor of Regan, Tim Muller diligently defended Chaminade territory, holding Manhasset’s top scorer, Mike Fahey, without a goal.
“I tried not to let Mike get to the goal,” Muller said. “But more importantly, it’s a great cause and it was just great to win for coach Regan.”
Before the game, coach Regan said his son’s memory would be served well regardless of the outcome.
“I know Jimmy was looking down smiling at this game,” Regan said.
On behalf of the Lead The Way Fund, we would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who came out to Manhasset High School to support us on Saturday at our Lacrosse Day For Heroes “Regs Rock” Event! It was an amazing day of lacrosse, between two of the best High School lacrosse teams in the country, and a great turnout in honor of an incredible person, Sgt. James J. Regan.
Regardless of the outcome of the games, ALL of the boys on the Chaminade & Manhasset Varsity and Junior Varsity teams played their hearts out, and we know they made Jimmy proud. A special congratulations to Ryan Lukacovic from Chaminade for having been bestowed the honor of wearing Jimmy’s #19 jersey this year. Well-deserved!
We would like to extend our gratitude to the staff at the Manhasset Public Schools, Chaminade High School and the Manhasset Booster Club for their generosity and assistance in continuing to make this day happen. The day went off without a hitch. Thank you to the Chaminade & Manhasset coaching staff for their unwaivering support in preserving Jimmy’s legacy. And thank you to Emory Parker for singing the National Anthem and Tim Burke for playing the Bag Pipes, they both did a great job!
Thanks again to MSG Varsity for their great coverage of the event; to Newsday for their beautiful article; to Geoff Walter at Mineola Patch for the great coverage and photos; and to the Manhasset Press for always supporting us!
We are so grateful to you all!
RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
All photos are courtesy of Geoff Walter at the Mineola Patch.
