Wounded Marines To Be Honored At USF-Miami Game Saturday

Posted Nov 16, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Nov 16, 2011 at 10:10 AM

Three wounded Marines with local ties will be honored Saturday during the USF-Miami game.

The game marks the first time USF is taking part in Under Armor’s UA Freedom series benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project’s “Believe in Heroes” campaign.

As part of the UA Freedom initiative, the Bulls will be wearing customized cleats, helmets and uniforms with their last names replaced with a core value embellishment – Duty, Honor, Courage, Commitment, Integrity, Country, or Service, according to a UA press release. The custom jerseys will be auctioned-off on the USF website the Monday following the game with a 100 percent of proceeds benefiting Believe in Heroes.

The wounded Marines:

Jeffrey Sean Stockton
Felt a strong sense of country following the Sept. 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and decided to “stand and contribute” by signing up with the Marines. Stockton served in Operation Secure Tomorrow (Haiti) in 2004 and Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005 – 2006. In June, 2006, he was wounded when he was struck by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade during a firefight and suffered traumatic brain injury from the explosions. Prior to joining the Marines, Stockton played for the Anaheim Angels baseball team. He is currently a student a USF, the alma mater of his father. 

Mike Delancey
Joined the Marines after high school in 2004 and completed tours in Afghanistan and Iraq until September 2006, when he was shot by an enemy sniper while on foot patrol. The bullet damaged three vertebrae and left Delancey a paraplegic. He is currently involved in youth football in Pinellas Park, FL and pursuing his MBA at St. Petersburg College.

Michael Lee Jernigan
Followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather when he joined the Marines in 2002. In 2004, Jernigan’s humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device, crushing nearly half his cranium and eventually costing him both his eyes and causing the reconstruction of his hands. Jernigan currently lives in Tampa with his wife and is completing his BA in history at USF.