The SFC Chad Paul Memorial Mental Health Fund was created in honor of SFC Chad Paul who served in US Army Special Forces and lost his internal war after 19 years and 10 months of his service in the military.
Kelli Littlefield and Stacy Morgan, President and Vice President of The Haven at Islands Counseling, INC respectively, are Chad’s cousins. To honor him and the loss of their cousin, they decided to create a fund to support veterans in their mental health journey to help prevent the outcome that they experienced with their cousin.
When Chad was growing up, he loved to torture a young Kelli with insisting they play war and cowboys and Indians on their grandparents farm in North Georgia. Kelli credits her exceptional marksmanship skills to Chad’s insistence. He loved to watch the Georgia Bulldog football games with the whole family at the farm. Lifelong friends, Chad and Kelli’s lives often ran parallel and they were supports to one another no matter where they were in the world. They were “best buds” all 38 years they were on this earth together.
Chad’s exceptional service record speaks for itself. He was in the military for 19 years and 10 months before he lost his internal war. He spent the entire time of his service stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. At basic training, he missed his name being called for orders to attend Ranger School and went Airborne instead. He later went back and elected to attend Ranger School and became Ranger Certified after he finished the Q Course. He was at the invasion of Iraq, and later went up for selection to become a Green Beret and began the Q Course. In the middle of the Q Course, the right side of his body became paralyzed as if he’d had a stroke. His doctors later found out that he had multiple brain lesions from IEDs during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The lesions were removed and after his recovery, he restarted the Q Course and completed it, even though he had been told he did not need to do so. Chad was assigned to 3rd Battalion and was in 3rd group after completing the Q Course. Chad served multiple missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor during one of his missions. Chad then decided to go back to teach the Q Course for a few years. Chad enjoyed his military career, often saying he liked to “blow s*#t up,” and found meaning in his service to the United States. Chad was in the process of retiring from the military as a Sergeant First Class at his 20th year of service when he lost his internal war.
Chad’s Obituary:
Chadwick Martin Paul, Sergeant First Class in the US Army Special Forces, passed away on Saturday, August 25, 2018. Born on December 23, 1979 in Lagrange, Georgia; he was the husband of Rachel Paul and father of two daughters: Raegyn and Ella, all of Sanford; son of Charles Paul, of Youngsville and Peggy Scarboro Paul, of Raleigh; and brother of Landon Paul and wife Mandy, of Jacksonville, FL. He is also survived by his mother-in-law: Delmarie Wehner and husband Todd Wehner; sister-in-laws: Rabecca Ross, Joie Frederici-Geivandova, Robin Jenkins and Kathryn Wehner; brother-in-laws: Anthony Frederici, John Ross, Alex Geivandova and Christopher Wehner; nieces: Lenore Galesi and Aliviah Ross; and by his nephew: Lincoln Rhodes. He was preceded in death by his step-mother: Jeannine S. Paul.
Chad entered the US Army after high school. He honorably served for 19 years and 10 months, stationed only at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. He will be remembered as a hero, a loving father, a caring son, a supportive husband, good friend to all, an avid golfer, and the biggest Georgia Bulldog fan under the sun.
“De Opresso Liber”
To Donate to the Chad Paul Mental Health Fund: