(upbeat music) - We're now joined by MaryEllen Picciuto, who's a retired president and advisor to Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, we'll put up the website for Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund as we do the program.

MaryEllen, thank you for joining us.

- Thanks so much for having me, Steve.

- Let me disclose that my very close friend, Jim McHugh, who lost his brother John in 2010 in Afghanistan.

We talk about these issues all the time.

He introduced me to you.

I said, let's do this program.

Let's talk about who John McHugh was, and why his legacy still matters, and what the heck it has to do with this soldier's fund, which is so important.

- Absolutely.

So, John McHugh, otherwise known as Johnny Mac, was one of my West Point classmates.

And he was tragically killed in Afghanistan in 2010 by a suicide bomber attack.

And our West Point class is very tight-knit.

And, you know, we hadn't lost anyone in post-9/11 combat because we were senior in age.

John was a full bird colonel when he was killed in action, had five children and his spouse, of course.

And so we.

- And a grandchild.

And a grandchild.

- And a grandchild.

And we launched into action, first to just raise money for the five McHugh children to make sure that they were taken care of should they want to go to college.

And then later, about four years later, in 2014, we decided that there was enough impetus behind this, enough effort and energy behind this that we could form the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and help many, many more military children the same way that we helped John's family.

So in 2014, Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund began.

And we're commemorating already, I can't believe it, but our 10th year this year throughout 2024.

- MaryEllen, when we were talking together with Jim McHugh and we started talking offline, one of the things that struck me is, not just your relationship and connection to Johnny Mac and your commitment to military families, but also your passion for making sure that not just the fund itself does what it does, but that we, all of us, as a country, understand, recognize, and instead of just simply saying, and it's important to say, we thank you for your service, and P.S., thank you for your service, it's not nearly enough, is it?

- It's not enough, you know?

And now that everyone is out of Iraq and Afghanistan for a couple of years now, slowly fading from folks' memory, it's not in the news every day anymore, but the vast majority of the children who lost a parent in those combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are now college age.

So that's where we're stepping in and we're trying to absolutely never forget the folks that fought for our freedoms.

- What are some of these children of military men and women who have been killed in war, what are some of them facing, many of them facing?

- Well, I think having raised two military kids of my own who absolutely did not have to face any kind of profound loss like some of these children have.

You know, military kids already have it a little bit tough with frequent moves, new schools, making new friends.

The fear of their parent going off on deployment, or to war, combat operations.

But now factor in a military child who loses a parent and, you know, obviously, this is something that stays with them for the rest of their lives.

And many of the kids that we're serving now were so young when they lost their parent that their memories are from the stories that other people are telling them and from photographs and so forth.

- Speaking of stories, I've heard a little bit from Jim McHugh about his brother over the years.

Tell us what Johnny Mac was like.

- So I'm gonna date myself a little bit, but do you remember the commercials from probably the late '70s or '80s, "Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet"?

- Yeah.

- Not to give Chevrolet a beat there, but that's what Johnny Mac was.

He was the guy next door, the boy next door.

Had a smile on his face.

I'm a fellow New Jerseyan and I grew up in Freehold.

- From Freehold, right?

- Yes.

- So, it's you and Springsteen from Freehold, so go ahead.

- Indeed, indeed.

And, you know, I got to West Point and everybody asks you, "What exit are you from?"

Well, I had never heard that in my 18 years growing up in Freehold.

But when you get to West Point, everybody from everywhere else asks you what exit you're from.

So I met Johnny Mac at some point, fellow New Jerseyan, we connected.

- The McHugh's are from Caldwell.

- Exactly.

And just super nice guy.

Unassuming, humble, great guy.

Did not surprise me later on to learn that he went on to serve 24 years in the Army, career Army officer, aviation officer, flew Black Hawks.

And raised five amazing children that I've had the pleasure of meeting.

And, you know, clearly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

They're all just wonderful human beings like their dad was.

- Let me ask you this.

How much of this, MaryEllen, from your perspective, beyond what people can do individually, and P.S., go on the website for Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, please go on it.

I'm not gonna turn this into a fundraiser, but the dollars go to helping the children of military men and women who have been lost in service.

But I'm gonna ask you this, that's a private thing, that's a not-for-profit thing.

Are there any specific government policies that you believe, I'm not gonna make this political, but policy to me is different, are there any specific policies on the state and or national level that need to be changed different to show how much we really care about military families instead of the rhetoric?

- No, you know what, Steve?

The benefits for military children of the fallen are actually quite robust.

And Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund steps in where there may be gaps.

And so sometimes a student has a gap with a private school or some other special circumstances.

And so we're trying to plug those gaps with the scholarships that we give out at Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund.

There's also very few benefits for military children of the fallen when it comes to private K to 12 schooling.

And so we've stepped into that gap as well.

So some of those children maybe require a little bit of extra attention that's not available in their public school system wherever they might reside.

And so we're finding that that K to 12 need is also great.

And we've expanded to help children of our wounded warriors as well with their education.

And so far fewer benefits are out there through the VA or the government for children of wounded warriors.

So we're helping with their K to 12 and college scholarships as well.

- Before I let you go, you chose to serve in the military for a lot of reasons.

What was the most significant?

- That's a great question.

You know, growing up in Freehold, my dad worked in New York City, commuted in every single day.

It was, West Point was something very different.

None of my high school classmates were doing something like that.

And I think I was influenced by the join the military, see the world.

I wanted to do something more.

I hadn't really been out of the New York, New Jersey metro area in my youth.

And so I, you know, those commercials, join the Army, see the world, I was like, oh, this sounds really exciting.

I can't say that I had this call to serve in the military, but I certainly developed it.

And once I visited West Point, I knew that was the place where I belonged.

And I ended up going there and then serving for five years in the Army, including duty in Operation Desert Shield and Storm.

So I left after five years, but continued to serve as a military spouse.

My husband served 24 years.

And Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund is just another phase of my life of service, I guess you could say.

- MaryEllen, thank you for joining us, but way more importantly, thank you for your service, thank you for your husband's service.

And we'll continue to talk about Johnny Mac and the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund.

And we'll do our part.

We'll continue to.

Thank you, MaryEllen.

- Thank you very much, Steve.

Great opportunity.

- You got it.

And thank you so much for watching.

I'm Steve Adubato.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

PSEG Foundation.

IBEW Local 102.

Operating Engineers, Local 825.

Stockton University.

New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities.

And by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ.

And by NJBIA.

- Energetic music