ABOUT US
About The March
The K.I.A. Memorial Roadmarch (“KMR”) started when SGM Jason Jaskula wanted to find a way to honor the memory of his Battle Buddy, Christopher Dill. Chris, a Staff Sgt. in the United States Army Reserves as well as a Buffalo Firefighter, was Killed In Action (K.I.A.) while deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 4, 2005 in Diyala, Iraq. He left behind family and friends who deeply miss him. Chris is always at the forefront when planning the March, especially when creating the Squad Challenges. Jason can often be heard asking ‘What would Chris do’.
When Jason returned from Iraq he volunteered wherever he could to help local Veterans, assisting with events such as Department of Veteran Affairs ‘Welcome Home Troops’ event and the Olympic-themed ‘Veterans Golden Age Games’. He also became a Buffalo Veterans Court Mentor. Meeting the families of Veterans who did not come home, and returning veterans who also lost good friends, had a profound effect on Jason as worked through his own grief for Chris. In trying to find a way to honor Chris’ memory, he realized that there was no single public event in Western New York to honor service members K.I.A.
On November 23, 2012, Jason walked 22 kilometers carrying 60 pounds of rocks in his rucksack. Each rock displayed the name of a Military Member Killed in Action while in Iraq and Afghanistan from Western New York. Since then, the organization K.I.A. has raised 550,000 pounds of food for local Veterans and food pantries while honoring the now 331 Military Members Killed in Action since 9/11, from New York State. Our mission is to help Veterans in need while honoring the fallen.
THE HISTORY
Our Mission
Our Mission is to raise food for Veterans in need through fun engaging events all while honoring and remembering the members of our Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our Country. In NYS there are 331 Military Members who were Killed In Action since September 11th, 2001. We pay homage at each event to keep each one of those memories alive.
Our Goal
KMR donates the items from events to local community groups to help Veterans in need:
- Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 77 Pantry.
- Buffalo State College Milligan’s Pantry.
- Many Community Center Food Pantries.
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Funds raised by KMR are used to support organizations such as
- Buffalo Treatment Court Mentors program
- The Gold Star Mothers (GSM)
- Direct to Vet programs supporting our Veterans.
- KMR funds are also used to help a very special cause, children of Veterans.
- KMR runs events where people donate items such as toys and gift cards for the holidays.
- KMR is 100% Volunteer run and thrives off of your donations.