National Ranger Memorial Foundation Awards $180,000 in College Scholarships to Rangers and Their Families
2026 awards bring the Foundation’s total scholarship support to more than $1.1 million since 1994
COLUMBUS, Ga. — The National Ranger Memorial Foundation (NRMF) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved $180,000 in college scholarships for 2026, awarded to 101 recipients through the Kenneth C. Leuer/Joseph S. Stringham NRMF Scholarship Endowment. This year’s disbursement — the largest single-year award in the Foundation’s history — brings total scholarship support to more than $1.1 million since the program began in 1994.
The scholarships support U.S. Army Rangers, both active duty and retired, as well as their spouses and children as they pursue college degrees. This year’s 101 recipients were selected from a record 104 applications, an increase of more than 50 percent over the prior year — a reflection of both growing need and growing trust in the program across the Ranger community.
“Every one of these scholarships tells the same story,” said Blair Brown, Executive Director of the National Ranger Memorial Foundation. “A Ranger raised his hand and served, and his family served right alongside him. Helping that family put a son or daughter through college — or helping a Ranger finish a degree of his own — is one of the most meaningful ways we can say thank you. We’ve been privileged to do it every year since 1994, and we intend to keep doing it for generations to come.”
The scholarship program is named for Major General (Ret.) Kenneth C. Leuer and Brigadier General (Ret.) Joseph S. Stringham, two former chairmen whose leadership built the endowment into what it is today. The awards are funded through the generosity of individual donors, corporate sponsors, and supporters across the country — from right here in the Columbus and Fort Benning community to Ranger veterans and families nationwide.
“The Ranger community takes care of its own, and this community has taken care of us,” said Brigadier General (Ret.) Larry Burris, Chairman of the NRMF Board of Directors. “More than three decades of scholarships doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because the Ranger community and our supporters show up, year after year. These 101 students are the return on that investment.”
Award notifications and disbursements to recipients’ institutions are underway for the 2026-2027 academic year. The full list of 2026 recipients is being shared on the Foundation’s Facebook and Instagram channels, and more information about the scholarship program is available at rangermemorial.org.
About the National Ranger Memorial Foundation
The National Ranger Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Columbus, Georgia. Since its founding, the Foundation has pursued two missions: to maintain, preserve, and improve the National Ranger Memorial at Fort Benning — home to more than 7,000 engraved Ranger names and more than $4.5 million in Foundation investment — and to provide college scholarships to U.S. Army Rangers and their families through the Kenneth C. Leuer/Joseph S. Stringham NRMF Scholarship Endowment. Learn more or support the mission at rangermemorial.org.
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