Matthew Bender

Matthew was born on January 12th 1983 in Downers Grove, Illinois to father James and his mother Sandra. For Matthew, the loss of his father at a very young age caused considerable hardships to him and his mother. Sandra often had to work multiple jobs waiting tables to provide for them while they lived with his grandparents, Delores and Arthur. Matthew attributes most of his success to the struggles he has overcome in his life and the hard work, determination and strength his mother always showed. Showing considerable academic achievement while attending grammar school, Matthew was placed in an accelerated learning program. Despite this accomplishment, Matthew all to often found himself in the principals office or in detention, much to the dissatisfaction of his mother. At the age of 14 Matthew got a job at a local ice cream stand where he cleaned, mopped and took out the trash. He also worked as a dishwasher full time through high school. After graduating high school, Matthew moved to downtown Chicago to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago. He worked the midnight shift at a hotel as a security guard while attending school to help pay for tuition and living expenses.

After watching the events unfold of September 11th 2001, Matthew was left with a feeling helpless and felt a greater calling to serve.

Three days later he contacted a recruiter and attended Basic Combat Training for the United States Army at Fort Leonardwood, MO in the winter of 2001-2002.

After returning home for a short time Matthew was deployed to the middle east in February of 2003 to fight the global war on terrorism.