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Veteran aims to raise funds for service members to attend funeral of fallen California native

A veteran in Iowa is raising funds to help service members attend the funeral of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, a Northern California area native killed in an attack in Kuwait on March 1.

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A veteran in Iowa is raising funds to help service members attend the funeral of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, a Northern California man killed in an attack in Kuwait on March 1.The news of Marzan’s death has deeply affected those who served with him. Many people he mentored have shared how he helped them finish school and advance in their careers.Connor Kuehl, one of those people, said Marzan helped him get his degree. “As I reflect, Rob was probably one of the best humans I’ve ever met,” Kuehl said. He met Marzan after enlisting in 2013 and quickly learned the type of leader Marzan was, eventually calling him a friend.”He went out of his way to put me on orders, got me paid for full-time capacity for the next three years, and during that time, he helped me complete my degree. He really gave my life purpose and direction,” Kuehl said. “He would bring people that he wanted to help in front of a whiteboard, and we would literally map out a life plan.”To honor his friend, Kuehl started a GoFundMe campaign to help bring 25 service members to California for Marzan’s funeral, veterans who wouldn’t be able to afford the travel otherwise. The campaign has already raised $18,000 as of Wednesday evening. “I know that if I called him today, if he was still here, he would drop what he was doing and help me like this,” Kuehl said. “It’s so meaningful for us to be able to bring the folks that want to say goodbye, and that he meant that much to us… words are hard to describe how meaningful it is.”Kuehl said they have nearly raised enough to cover the trip itself but have set a goal of $65,000 to help with funeral expenses for Marzan and the other families who lost loved ones.Marzan was one of six service members who died after the Iranian airstrike in Kuwait.To view the GoFundMe page, click here.

A veteran in Iowa is raising funds to help service members attend the funeral of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, a Northern California man killed in an attack in Kuwait on March 1.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan

Brent Newton

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The news of Marzan’s death has deeply affected those who served with him. Many people he mentored have shared how he helped them finish school and advance in their careers.

Connor Kuehl, one of those people, said Marzan helped him get his degree. “As I reflect, Rob was probably one of the best humans I’ve ever met,” Kuehl said. He met Marzan after enlisting in 2013 and quickly learned the type of leader Marzan was, eventually calling him a friend.

“He went out of his way to put me on orders, got me paid for full-time capacity for the next three years, and during that time, he helped me complete my degree. He really gave my life purpose and direction,” Kuehl said. “He would bring people that he wanted to help in front of a whiteboard, and we would literally map out a life plan.”

To honor his friend, Kuehl started a GoFundMe campaign to help bring 25 service members to California for Marzan’s funeral, veterans who wouldn’t be able to afford the travel otherwise.

The campaign has already raised $18,000 as of Wednesday evening.

“I know that if I called him today, if he was still here, he would drop what he was doing and help me like this,” Kuehl said. “It’s so meaningful for us to be able to bring the folks that want to say goodbye, and [say] that he meant that much to us… words are hard to describe how meaningful it is.”

Kuehl said they have nearly raised enough to cover the trip itself but have set a goal of $65,000 to help with funeral expenses for Marzan and the other families who lost loved ones.

Marzan was one of six service members who died after the Iranian airstrike in Kuwait.

To view the GoFundMe page, click here.

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