WENTZVILLE, Mo. – Thousands of dollars have been raised by a local business drawing awareness on the most devastating incident to occur within the Special Operations community.

On Sunday morning, many gathered to speak—and spray—in a Wentzville senior living community. Thanks to the work of a hometown hero, the legacy of 31 U.S. troops lost on Aug. 6, 2011, endures.

“There was a team of Rangers, they were pinned down in the ground, these guys were going in for back up,” said Jeremy Callaway, referring to the attack that came on a military troop during a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

In a matter of moments, the mission turned deadly, as the CH-47 Chinook was coming in for a final landing, before Taliban fighters shot the helicopter down with a rocket-propelled grenade. Thirty-one American troops, a military K-9, and seven Afghans aboard the chopper were killed.

“The largest loss of life in the Special Operators community,” said Mike LeBlanc, American Legion.

“I personally had three friends and teammates on board that aircraft,” Callaway said.

Remembering the heroes 12 years later, is what had Patriot Guard riders and many others gathered in the senior living community.

“It’s a high degree of responsibility for us, to carry their memories forward,” LeBlanc said.

Callaway read the names of the fallen, followed by a salute and ringing of a bell. His business, Major League Pressure Washing, is raising money to support the families of the fallen military members via a tax-free write-off opportunity for property owners and homeowners.

“We’ll wash a house for each of the 31 (lives) lost,” Callaway said. 

Those proceeds will go to the 31 Heroes Foundation, which supports those families, as well as PTSD and TBI research.

For Callaway, it’s a personal mission. Three of his friends were on that chopper when it was shot down: Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, and Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe.

“We remember their names, we remember the men, we remember their sacrifice,” Callaway said. 

So far this year, Major League Pressure Washing has raised more than $5,000 for the 31 Heroes Foundation. Anyone interested in participating in the tax-free write-off, you can get a hold of Major League Pressure Washing at 314-390-5775.