Marine vets at law school get national spotlight
Former U.S. Marine and first-year law student Jackson Smith, right, is pictured with his friend Brian McKenna when they were employees at the Boot. The Boot will host a fundraiser Sunday (Nov. 8) for McKenna, who was injured in a bike accident. (Photo from Jackson Smith)
Before they even got into the meat of their first semester, Tulane Law School students Andrew Darlington and Jackson Smith were attracting national attention.
In July, Darlington was featured in a National Public Radio story about the rejuvenation of New Orleans" Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Then, a Washington Post column Smith wrote about his friend Brian McKenna led to two appearances on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
It"s a lot to juggle. But both are used to demanding duty: Darlington and Smith are U.S. Marine Corps veterans, and each deployed twice to Afghanistan.
Darlington helped his Afghan translator secure a job and housing to relocate in Houston.
Meanwhile, Smith is raising funds for McKenna, who has been undergoing rehab after being paralyzed in a bike accident.
In his Post column, Smith wrote that while he was in Afghanistan in 2010, McKenna took a life-size cardboard cutout of him in Marine uniform to Carnival events, where he snapped a picture with Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
This summer, Smith returned the favor, getting a shot of Brees with McKenna"s cutout at a Saints practice at Yulman Stadium on the Tulane uptown campus.
When Smith and McKenna appeared on DeGeneres" show Sept. 30, she surprised them with a Skype visit from Brees, who presented McKenna with a $40,000 check to buy a specialized wheelchair.
“I"m so fortunate to be at the intersection of so many incredible things happening and incredible people being involved,” Smith said.
A party for will benefit the recovery fund for McKenna, a 2007 graduate of the A. B. Freeman School of Business, on Sunday (Nov. 8) at The Boot, 1039 Broadway St. VIP tickets ($100) include brunch from 10-11:30 a.m. The party from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. is open to the public with a $20 cover and bottomless bloody marys and mimosas. The event includes a silent auction.
Linda P. Campbell is Tulane Law School"s director of communications.
