Sambora says Thank You

From the Quantico Sentry Online:

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora said he wanted to do “anything to give back to the guys who are out there fighting for our freedom. I travel around the world, and I have for 30 years, and what I enjoy most about America is our freedom.”

One of those guys is Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Plescia, who has served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. In the course of his military service, Plescia has spent a total of about 10 years separated from his family, and although he was stationed at Quantico when he signed up for a chance to win one of the 100 signed, numbered, travel-friendly guitars that Sambora is giving out to Marines and sailors this summer, he has now been moved to California, while his wife and daughter remain here in Triangle.

“I’m a product of the ’80s. Bon Jovi was one of my favorite bands growing up,” Plescia said, remembering how he had caught the band’s “New Jersey” tour in his senior year of high school.

He was one of five Quantico Marines who each won a Voyage-Air acoustic guitar with a travel pack, extra strings and a guitar tuner in Sambora’s raffle. The guitars fold in half, making them convenient for travel such as overseas deployment. The four service members remaining on base were presented with the guitars Thursday morning, July 28, in the theater at Little Hall.

In a phone interview that night, Sambora, who was between concert dates in Spain, said he had received one of the guitars for his birthday and thought it would make a fitting gift for a service member stationed overseas. “The Marines, they need something compact, but they do a lot of hanging out too—when they’re not fighting, obviously.” He contacted the Marine Corps in October to set something up, and MCCS came up with the idea to raffle off the guitars. Entries were accepted in April and May. “It turned out to be a big success and we’re very excited about it,” Sambora said.

You can read the whole article here.

~ Hath