Before Adam Driver was Kylo Ren or even that weird dude on “Girls,” he was a U.S. Marine. Shortly after the September 11 terror attacks, Driver joined the Marine Corps where he served for two years and eight months. Before he was ever deployed, Driver broke his sternum while mountain biking and he was medically discharged before his unit deployed to Iraq. Because of that experience, Driver knew exactly how U.S. Army veteran John Williams felt. Williams was injured during a training exercise before Operation Desert Storm and he was not able to go to battle with his fellow brothers-in-arms. In this video, Driver met John Williams to deliver a very special message and scholarship.
John’s daughter, Hayley Williams, wants to become a nurse because of her father. Sadly, her father’s injury was so severe that he needed steel rods and six screws to stabilize his spine and makes his current bus driver job difficult on many days. The family has struggled to come up with all of the money for her to go to college. So Hayley applied for a scholarship from the Folds of Honor Foundation, which is partially funded by Budweiser. Hayley was awarded the scholarship by Adam Driver in person. The Hollywood actor drove out to Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, to personally deliver the good news to the Williams family.
“I found the Williams to be an incredibly close-knit and loving family,” Driver told the Huffington Post. “I understood where Hayley’s father, John, was coming from right away. John was injured right before being deployed. I was also injured right before deployment, so that sense of not finishing your job with the people you started with is something we connected on. Unfortunately, he is left with limited mobility and over the past 20 years, he has received multiple back surgeries to try to help. Despite his injuries, he works incredibly hard as a bus driver to support his family. Hayley’s father inspired her to become a nurse to help people just like him. … I felt very fortunate to be there and to help Hayley take the next step.”
The Folds of Honor has awarded 2,200 scholarships to veterans and their family members since 2011. If you would like to donate to the Fold of Honor you can do so here.