BLANCHARDVILLE — Two Pecatonica High School graduates each received Military Travel Awards at the school’s 2019 Senior Recognition Banquet May 29.

Auston Bedward and Cody Kastner have both enlisted in the US Marine Corps and will leave for basic training this fall.

The Travel Awards were presented by the Ben Jackson Foundation, which was founded to recognize young people who have decided to enlist in the military and to provide financial assistance to help them visit home. The Foundation is named after Ben Jackson, a 2016 New Glarus High School graduate serving in the US Air Force in Japan. He was killed in an on-base accident shortly after a visit home to Wisconsin in February of 2018.

When asked why he chose the Marine Corps, Kastner said “I like a challenge and from what I have heard this branch challenges you the most. I also have lot of my family members that were in the Marines.” Kastner is hoping to serve as a member of the infantry or work with ordnance handling and maintenance.

Bedward decided to enlist, saying “because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. I want to help people and I saw enlisting as the best way to do so.” Upon graduation from basic training, he would like to work on military vehicles.

The Ben Jackson Foundation currently supports young men and women who have recently enlisted in the military from the following communities: Albany, Belleville, Brodhead, Juda, Monroe, Monticello, New Glarus, Oregon and Pecatonica.

For more information about the Ben Jackson Foundation, visit www.benjacksonfoundation.org.