Travis Joseph Manion was a U.S. Marine Corps officer born on November 19, 1980, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. A 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he was a standout wrestler and leader among his peers. Commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant, he served with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

In 2007, while leading a Military Transition Team embedded with the Iraqi Army in Anbar Province, Iraq, Lt. Manion was killed in action on April 29 during an ambush. He deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire to protect his fellow Marines, an act of valor for which he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor.

His legacy of service and sacrifice lives on through the Travis Manion Foundation, which empowers veterans and youth to live with character, guided by his personal motto: “If not me, then who…”.