5th Squad

08/29/2026

WE’RE BUILDING THE NEXT BERNIE’S. 🇺🇸

5th Squad has an incredible opportunity to establish a permanent headquarters and Veteran community center—a place for camaraderie, resources, programs, events, and Veterans Helping Veterans.

And we need our community to help us make it happen.

We’ve been awarded a $200,000 Lowe's Community Impact grant to renovate our future facility. Now, we have to secure the building.

Every donation. Every share. Every introduction to a business or potential partner moves us closer.

This is bigger than a building. It’s the future of 5th Squad.

🇺🇸 Help us build Bernie’s 3.0.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-5th-squads-barracks

Can't donate? You can still help. Share this campaign or introduce us to a business or community leader who may want to be part of Bernie’s 3.0.

For over 10 years, 5th Squad has answered the call when Veterans n… Lee Stringer needs your support for Help Us Build the Barracks — Veterans Helping Veterans

08/25/2026

Thank you, Justin, for sharing about our good friend Bubba.

Y’all please take a minute and lift Bubba and the entire WAYS Energy family up in prayer. Bubba has become an adopted dad to all of us at 5th Squad, and we love him deeply.

Bubba, we’ve got your six. You’ve been there for so many people, and now we’re standing right there with you. You can fight through this, brother.

Cancer sucks. Keep fighting, Bubba. We love you. 🙏💪

08/24/2026

Army Pfc. Patricia L. Horne
📍 Greenwood, Mississippi
📅 Died August 24, 2012
🪖 Operation Enduring Freedom

Pfc. Patricia L. Horne, 20, of Greenwood, Mississippi, served with the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She died on August 24, 2012, while serving at Bagram, Afghanistan.

Patricia was intelligent, driven, and proud to serve her country. A 2010 graduate of Greenwood High School and one of six children, she joined the Army and spent most of her nearly three years of service stationed at Fort Campbell.

In Afghanistan, Patricia served as a personnel office clerk and had been deployed for only about a month when she died. Just weeks earlier, she told her mother that she planned to reenlist and use the educational opportunities provided by the Army to pursue an ambitious dream—she wanted to become a doctor.

At only 20 years old, Patricia had already committed herself to something larger than herself and was planning a future built around continued service and education.

Her death brought the cost of war home to Greenwood and reminded her community that service and sacrifice are carried by America's sons and daughters.

Pfc. Patricia L. Horne.

A daughter. A Soldier. A young woman with big plans and a heart for service.

Say her name. See her face. Tell her story.

08/22/2026

Army 2nd Lt. Matthew R. Stovall
📍 Horn Lake, Mississippi
📅 Died August 22, 2004
🪖 Operation Iraqi Freedom

2nd Lt. Matthew R. Stovall, 25, of Horn Lake, Mississippi, served with the 367th Maintenance Company, 298th Corps Support Battalion, Mississippi Army National Guard. He was killed on August 22, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Matthew was a young officer remembered for something every leader strives to earn—the willingness of others to follow him. At his memorial service, Maj. Gen. Harold Cross said, “He made people want to follow him.”

Nearly 500 people gathered to honor Matthew, while residents lined the streets of Philadelphia, Mississippi, waving American flags as his funeral procession passed. Many had never met him, but they understood what his sacrifice meant to their community and their country.

Matthew deployed in September 2003 with the Mississippi Army National Guard. For his service and sacrifice, he was posthumously honored with awards including the Purple Heart and Mississippi Magnolia Cross.

He left behind his wife, Natalie, and their 2-year-old son, along with his parents, siblings, grandmother, and a community determined to remember him.

Matthew was only 25 years old, but his impact as a Soldier, husband, father, son, and leader extended far beyond those years.

2nd Lt. Matthew R. Stovall.

Say his name. See his face. Tell his story.

08/21/2026

Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram
📍 Pearl, Mississippi
📅 Died August 21, 2009
🪖 Operation Enduring Freedom

Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram, 25, of Pearl, Mississippi, served with the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. He was killed on August 21, 2009, in Chapa Dara, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle as his unit came under enemy small-arms fire.

Matthew was an experienced combat veteran who had already completed two tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan. During his service in Iraq, he was wounded in an explosion and awarded the Purple Heart. Yet, he continued to serve.

Those who knew Matthew remembered a natural leader. His mother said he had always been "a leader, not a follower." He joined the Army in 2003, seeking something bigger for his life—a chance to serve his country, see the world, and eventually pursue his education.

But beneath the uniform, Matthew was a husband and young father. He married his wife, Holly, in 2006, and together they had a daughter, Chloe. Before leaving for Afghanistan, Matthew worried about whether he would see his little girl again.

His mother later found comfort in the belief that people never truly die as long as their names continue to be spoken.

So today, we say his name.

Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram.

A husband. A father. A son. A combat veteran. A Purple Heart recipient. A Mississippi Soldier who gave his life in service to our Nation.

We will tell his story.

08/20/2026

I don’t make posts like this very often, but this one is personal to me.

I served in the Mississippi Army National Guard for 16 years and when my time in uniform was over, I realized something pretty quickly.

I didn’t really miss the Army. I missed the people.

I missed being around my brothers and sisters. I missed the jokes, the stories, the bu****it, the camaraderie, and knowing the person beside you understood things you didn’t have to explain.

And I think a lot of veterans know exactly what I’m talking about.

That’s what I found again with 5th Squad.

I found my people.

But even more importantly, I found a way to stand beside those people again. A way to help another veteran when life hits them hard. A way to look somebody in the eye and say, “We’ve got you.”

That’s what Veterans Helping Veterans means to me. It isn’t a slogan we put on a shirt. It’s what we do.

And now we have an opportunity to take what 5th Squad does to an entirely different level.

We were blessed to receive a $200,000 Lowe’s Community Impact Grant to help us build the future of this organization.

And now, we’ve been approved for the loan to purchase a building that can finally become our permanent home. Our new Bernie's!

A place right here in the heart of Rankin County where Mississippi veterans can walk through the door and find resources, assistance, fellowship, and maybe most importantly, their people again.

We are closer than we have ever been. But there’s just one more hill to climb.

We need to raise the down payment.

And this is where I’m asking for your help.

I’ve watched this community step up for veterans time and time again. I’ve watched businesses, families, friends, complete strangers, and veterans themselves give what they could because they believed in what we were doing.

So I’m asking you to help us make this final push.

Donate if you can. Share this if you can. Send it to somebody who might want to be part of it.

Every dollar gets us closer.

Every share gets us closer.

And when those doors finally open, this won’t just be a building that belongs to 5th Squad.

It will belong to every person who believed in 5th Squad's mission. Veterans helping Veterans.

I found my people again because of 5th Squad.

Now I want to make damn sure the next veteran who needs theirs knows exactly where to find them.

Help us Build the Barracks.

Sincerely,

Stephen Pruitt
Vice President MS Chapter, 5th Squad

Change starts with people like you. Your donation helps make a real impact, one action at a time. Together, we can do more.

08/18/2026

5th Squad continues to grow because of people who are willing to raise their hand, accept responsibility, and put Veterans first.

Please join us in welcoming Grady Helton, Dave Wirt, and Michael Jenkins to the 5th Squad Board! 🇺🇸

Each of these men brings a unique background, valuable experience, and a servant’s heart. Their leadership, commitment, and passion for helping others will make our organization even stronger as we continue our mission of Veterans Helping Veterans.

Welcome to the family, Grady, Dave, and Michael!

08/17/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday to Filbert — a man who is quite literally all over the place! 🎉

Police officer, Veteran, husband, father, brother, and a guy with a heart like a lion. He’s got more badges on his chest than Tiffany has tabs open on her internet browser… and if you know Tiffany, you know that’s saying something. 😂

Great husband. Great father. Great brother. There’s that common 5th Squad theme again.

Filbert may be going 100 different directions at once, but when someone needs him, he shows up. His heart for people and passion for serving others are second to none.

Happy Birthday, brother! We’re proud to have you in this crazy family.

08/16/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday to Dave!

Soldier. Airman. Numbers guy. And one damn proud member of the Mississippi Air National Guard!

Dave may be one of the newest official members of 5th Squad, but he's been apart of our families a whole lot longer.

Great husband. Great father. Great brother. Loyal as they come. There’s that common theme again…

We’re pretty sure Dave can turn anything into a spreadsheet, calculate the exact percentage of beer left in your glass, and somehow explain why your math is wrong. 😂

All jokes aside, Dave is exactly the kind of man we want standing beside us — dependable, loyal, and always willing to serve.

Happy Birthday, brother! We’re proud to finally make the family paperwork official. 🍻