Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
Women’s Golfers to Carry Fallen Hero with Them This Season
September 16, 2018 | Women's Golf
Cardinals remembering Army Staff Sergeant Kevin M. Pape through Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The members of the Ball State women's golf team never knew Army Staff Sergeant Kevin M. Pape. They weren't even yet teenagers when he gave the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan in 2010.
Until recently, they had no idea the Fort Wayne native made six tours of duty or was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart. Yet SSG Pape's memory is something the Cardinals will now literally carry with them throughout this entire season.
As they do each year, the Ball State golfers all carry their clubs in team bags with their names nicely embroidered on the front pocket. But this year, there will be a special addition. At each tournament, one golfer will trade out her own bag for the honor of carrying a bag emblazoned with SSG Pape's name.
It's all part of the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program coordinated by the Women's Golf Coaches Association and Golf Coaches Association of America.
"It is an honor to be part of the Folds of Honor Program," Ball State head coach Katherine Mowat said. "Someone on our team will have the privilege of carrying Kevin Pape's name on their golf bag each tournament. With each step and each shot, our team is reminded of the sacrifices he and other service members have made for our country."
For teams interested in participating, the WGCA provides a list of potential matches in their geographic areas. They are the names of fallen or severely wounded soldiers. Among those on the list provided to Mowat was that of SSG Pape and his surviving wife and 12-year old daughter in Fort Wayne.
It sounded like a good match. The Cardinals could honor a fallen soldier and potentially have a positive impact on his 12-year-older daughter who was only 3 at the time of his passing. So Mowat made a connection through Facebook and received the blessing and gratitude of the family to proceed.
Now a golf bag featuring SSG Pape's name is embroidered and ready to be carried. Mowat has designated Ball State's top golfer Manon Tounalom to tote the bag this week at the Cardinal Classic, the team's home tournament.
The event takes place Monday and Tuesday at The Players Club in Yorktown, as Tounalom and the Cardinals carry SSG Pape's memory along with them.
About Army Sergeant Kevin M. Pape
Army Staff Sergeant Kevin M. Pape, 30, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. In the five years since enlisting in the Army, SSG Pape was on his sixth tour of duty. He'd deployed to Iraq three times and was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. On Nov. 16, 2010, SSG Pape died of wounds suffered when enemy forces engaged his unit in a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Konar province, Afghanistan.
A 1998 graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School, SSG Pape was known as a sharp student and athlete. He enlisted in the Army in September 2005 and completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia as an infantryman. After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, SSG Pape was assigned to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program where upon graduation, he served as a machine gunner, team leader and squad leader. As a Ranger, SSG Pape selflessly lived his life for others and distinguished himself as a member of the Army's premier light-infantry unit.
SSG Pape was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal as well as many other awards and decorations he'd already received. SSG Pape is survived by his wife and daughter - who was only three at the time of his death and is a Folds of Honor scholarship recipient.
About the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program
The Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program (FHMTP) provides the opportunity for any collegiate golf program to honor a fallen or severely wounded American soldier by having a team member carry a golf bag displaying the name, rank and branch of service of the soldier being honored during the school year.
At the end of each season, the golf program makes its best effort to raise funds for the bag with the proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor (FOH). The FOH, a preferred charitable partner of the Women's Golf Coach Association (WGCA) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), works to ensure that no family is left behind in the fight to preserve American freedom. Through scholarships and other assistance, they give back to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country.
Until recently, they had no idea the Fort Wayne native made six tours of duty or was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart. Yet SSG Pape's memory is something the Cardinals will now literally carry with them throughout this entire season.
As they do each year, the Ball State golfers all carry their clubs in team bags with their names nicely embroidered on the front pocket. But this year, there will be a special addition. At each tournament, one golfer will trade out her own bag for the honor of carrying a bag emblazoned with SSG Pape's name.
It's all part of the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program coordinated by the Women's Golf Coaches Association and Golf Coaches Association of America.
"It is an honor to be part of the Folds of Honor Program," Ball State head coach Katherine Mowat said. "Someone on our team will have the privilege of carrying Kevin Pape's name on their golf bag each tournament. With each step and each shot, our team is reminded of the sacrifices he and other service members have made for our country."
For teams interested in participating, the WGCA provides a list of potential matches in their geographic areas. They are the names of fallen or severely wounded soldiers. Among those on the list provided to Mowat was that of SSG Pape and his surviving wife and 12-year old daughter in Fort Wayne.
It sounded like a good match. The Cardinals could honor a fallen soldier and potentially have a positive impact on his 12-year-older daughter who was only 3 at the time of his passing. So Mowat made a connection through Facebook and received the blessing and gratitude of the family to proceed.
Now a golf bag featuring SSG Pape's name is embroidered and ready to be carried. Mowat has designated Ball State's top golfer Manon Tounalom to tote the bag this week at the Cardinal Classic, the team's home tournament.
The event takes place Monday and Tuesday at The Players Club in Yorktown, as Tounalom and the Cardinals carry SSG Pape's memory along with them.
About Army Sergeant Kevin M. Pape
Army Staff Sergeant Kevin M. Pape, 30, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. In the five years since enlisting in the Army, SSG Pape was on his sixth tour of duty. He'd deployed to Iraq three times and was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. On Nov. 16, 2010, SSG Pape died of wounds suffered when enemy forces engaged his unit in a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Konar province, Afghanistan.
A 1998 graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School, SSG Pape was known as a sharp student and athlete. He enlisted in the Army in September 2005 and completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia as an infantryman. After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, SSG Pape was assigned to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program where upon graduation, he served as a machine gunner, team leader and squad leader. As a Ranger, SSG Pape selflessly lived his life for others and distinguished himself as a member of the Army's premier light-infantry unit.
SSG Pape was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal as well as many other awards and decorations he'd already received. SSG Pape is survived by his wife and daughter - who was only three at the time of his death and is a Folds of Honor scholarship recipient.
About the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program
The Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program (FHMTP) provides the opportunity for any collegiate golf program to honor a fallen or severely wounded American soldier by having a team member carry a golf bag displaying the name, rank and branch of service of the soldier being honored during the school year.
At the end of each season, the golf program makes its best effort to raise funds for the bag with the proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor (FOH). The FOH, a preferred charitable partner of the Women's Golf Coach Association (WGCA) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), works to ensure that no family is left behind in the fight to preserve American freedom. Through scholarships and other assistance, they give back to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country.
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