In honor of 11 U.S. Marines and National Guardsmen killed in a helicopter crash this year, a Wilmington man will swim around Wrightsville Beach on Saturday, Aug. 29 to raise money for an organization providing support for Marines and their families.
Seasoned long-distance swimmer Henry Singletary will swim approximately 11 miles over the course of more than six hours as part of a fundraiser he organized. The swim will start at Mason’s Inlet by Shell Island Resort at 7:15 a.m. and is expected to finish just south of lifeguard stand 1 between 12 and 1 p.m. He will be joined by several swimmers for part of the route.
Singletary said the swim was to honor the lives of the servicemen killed in a March 10 helicopter crash near Pensacola, Fla. and to support the MARSOC Foundation, which supports active duty and medically retired U. S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command members.
“It’s not about me, it’s to honor the 11 men who were killed,” Singletary said. “We lost 11 really really good men. I didn’t know them, but felt like I needed to do something for them.”
Singletary said his goal was to raise $2,000 for the organization, but so far has brought in nearly $3,000. The fundraising page is available here.
