Dec 5, 2017 5 min read

Growing up in Washington, the Faldowski brothers both loved playing football. After graduating from Trinity High School, DJ and Mark Faldowski also went on to appointments at military academies and careers in the armed forces. Now, the siblings are working together on a shared passion involving the loss of brothers and sisters in arms.

“People are very proud of their loved ones and they just want their legacy to be alive,” explains Mark Faldowski, a 2005 Trinity graduate. “That’s how we came up with the name. They want that person to be remembered for what they did and their contribution to their family, community and country.”

That name became a calling and then a nonprofit organization aimed at keeping alive the legacies of fallen soldiers. “It started as a conversation between Mike (Viti) and myself,” Mark says when recalling the founding of Legacies Alive. “We played football and served together, and we wanted to do something to honor the Gold Star families having lost friends.”

When Viti threw out the idea of walking a kilometer for every person killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mark says, “I thought it was a crazy idea. But we started to walk in April 2014.”

The walk wasn’t meant to raise money, but rather to raise awareness and to call on Gold Star families – those who have lost loved ones in military service. Mark says, “We were able to network these families and then we started to gain traction.”

His co-founder and West Point football teammate Mike Viti walked 4,995 miles, with Mark joining him on many of the segments. They stopped and visited Gold Star families along the way, and that initial trek turned into a movement to honor and connect the families and to keep the legacies of their loved ones alive.

DJ Faldowski played football at Trinity ahead of his younger brother, Mark, and went on to an appointment at the Naval Academy in Annapolis after graduating high school in 2002. DJ served nine years in the Navy, was a part of SEAL teams and is currently working on a dual degree between Wharton Business School and Harvard Kennedy School in Boston, while also serving as director of operations for Legacies Alive and as a board member. “I was deployed overseas when Mark called to tell me that Mike was doing the hike,” DJ says. “I was immediately called to our mission and have been involved with Legacies Alive ever since. During the beginning phases of our organization, I was primarily responsible for organizational strategy. But once I left active duty, I was fortunate to be more involved in the day-to-day operations.”

Younger brother Mark thought about following DJ to Annapolis, but he got an offer from rival West Point to play football for Army and couldn’t say no. Mark went on to active duty for five years, serving three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He earned his MBA at Notre Dame and now works as an investment banker in New York City. These accomplished brothers are two of the three children of Damon and Roberta Faldowski of Washington – and they experienced loss of their own after their Roberta died of cancer. Mark says keeping a loved one’s memory alive is an important mission.

“A lot of us are combat veterans, and we all know what it’s like, and we all feel very fortunate,” he says. “Nobody wants to be a Gold Star family, but this is their new normal. We hear this all the time that the No. 1 thing these families are scared of is their son or daughter, wife or husband, mother or father … that their names will never be said again. They want that memory to be alive.”

To accomplish that, Legacies Alive not only organizes cross-country challenges, but also constructs memorials called Legacy Projects that honor those who have died in military service. “We want people to remember how they lived and not just how they died,” Mark says.

Some of the projects include soldier memorials or parks that not only celebrate these heroes’ sacrifice, but also who they were as members of their families and communities. “The Gold Star family network is a network that nobody wants to be a part of,” he adds. “I think what keeps me going is that I want to do for these families what I would want done for my family if something had happened to me.”

He notes the bonding and healing that occur when Gold Star families meet one another is remarkable. “They want to be around other people who have had a similar experience.”

DJ says this cause is very close to his heart. “While serving in the military for over a decade, I unfortunately lost close friends, and my greatest fear was that their sacrifice would be forgotten,” he says. “I also noticed a trouble pattern for our Gold Star Families – initially they received abundant support, but it waned over the years. After talking with Mark and the team about this pattern, we committed ourselves to serving these families for the rest of our lives. Through Legacies Alive, I’ve gained a reinvigorated hope that the sacrifices of our fallen heroes and their families will not be forgotten.”

Legacy Challenges are specifically designed extreme physical and mental challenges, such as long-distance cycling or walking or even swimming the Mississippi River and that bring national awareness to the mission. The organization also holds two galas each year to raise funds for its projects and brings Gold Star families to the annual Army-Navy game for a shared experience where families can connect, remember and celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

“Legacies Alive has allowed me to continue serving once I took off my uniform, and service means the world to me,” DJ says. “When I see a Gold Star Family smile, I know we are accomplishing our mission.”