Toms River Teen Inspires Military A World Away

Matt DeRiggi has long been fascinated planes -- especially military planes.

“My favorite is the P51 Mustang,” the Toms River North student said Monday while he was seated at the dining room table of his family’s home. “And the P38 Lightning. I’m very fascinated about World War II, especially the planes.”

“He loves to go to the air show at the base,” said his father, Tom, referring to the annual show at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where he can see the planes up close.

“I always wanted to be a pilot,” Matt, 17, said. “Mostly, I just like the military. I like that they fight for us.”

Matt -- who is battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which progressively breaks down the muscles -- has inspired mutual feelings from a group of U.S. servicemen and women in the Middle East.

In an email to the Patch, a Toms River North graduate named John -- who goes by Sgt. Bud and asked that his last name be withheld for security reasons -- said he had been reading the Patch to keep up with events back home and read Matt’s story.

Sgt. Bud was particularly touched by how Matt and his mother, Barbara, keep up a tradition of sending greeting cards to the troops at the holidays -- a tradition Barbara said they have had for several years.

“It started out with 10 or 12,” she said Monday afternoon, “and now we send 20 to 30.”

On Saturday, they were on the receiving end of a package -- one assembled by Sgt. Bud -- that showed Matt just what an impression he’d made.

There were notes in the box, thanking Matt for his support of the troops. And khaki-colored patches that some had pulled from their uniforms. And there was a U.S. flag, along with a certificate saying the flag had been flown in Matt’s honor during a mission over Iraq.

“Matt has inspired many of us over here and we are thinking about him,” Sgt. Bud wrote. He shared Matt’s story with others who are serving in Kuwait, and they were touched as well, he said.

The flag Matt received was flown on an A-10 fighter jet on a mission over Iraq, Sgt. Bud said. Others made up cards and had members of the Air Force, Marines and Navy write messages to Matt.

“I can only imagine what Matt and his family are going through, Sgt. Bud said. “Despite Matt’s medical condition, he remains positive and supports others. We want to show him our support and this was our way that we could.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy progressively breaks down the muscles. Eventually, the disease weakens the heart and lungs. The life expectancy of the genetic disorder, which targets primarily boys, is the mid-20s. Matt was diagnosed when he was 6 years old.

Chris Falkiewicz, a friend of Tom and Barbara DeRiggi, said family has faced mounting medical expenses as they care for Matt, who sees a specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). His medical care included surgery in February to correct severe curvature of his spine, caused by the disease, that was compressing his organs and causing problems with his heart and lungs.

In the wake of the surgery, they realized they needed to build an addition onto their home, so that Matt, who uses a wheelchair, can be cared for entirely on the first floor, Barbara said Monday. Since Matt’s surgery, he has been sleeping in a hospital bed in the living room of their home.

“Carrying him upstairs is just about impossible now,” she said. And they need to make other modifications to make things as safe as possible for him, she said.

Falkiewicz, who has started a GoFundMe account to assist the family with the costs of the addition, said Matt also reached out to local first responders during Hurricane Sandy, insisting that his mother make hot chocolate and then making her take him out to distribute it.

That touched Sgt. Bud, too, who served with Toms River Fire Company 1 for 20 years.

“I know how it makes one feel getting a Christmas card from someone you don’t even know, wishing you a Happy Holiday and thanking us for our service. I also know the appreciation I felt when someone who I didn’t even know, would bring us coffee or hot chocolate on a fire scene and just said thanks for serving,” wrote Sgt. Bud, a member of the Air National Guard who is involved with security in Kuwait.

”Matt, despite his battles, supported the military and emergency service workers. Getting a flag flown on a mission in his honor is a small token of our appreciation and support.”

Sgt. Bud said hopes to meet Matt and his family -- the DeRiggis have two adult children, ages 27 and 25, as well -- when he comes home, sometime in July or August.

“Matt is a soldier just like us, he is just fighting a different enemy. In the military, we have our brother’s back, and we have Matt’s!”

“I just want to thank them for keeping us safe,” Matt said.

To assist the DeRiggi family, check out the GoFundMe account, which you can find here.

(Editor’s note: The Patch has omitted certain identifying details about Sgt. Bud and the unit he is with due to security concerns.)

(PHOTOS: 1. Matt DeRiggi with the U.S. flag and other items sent to him by Sgt. Bud. 2. Sgt.. Bud and other members of the armed forces serving in Kuwait pose for a photo with the flag they sent to Matt. 3. Military personnel fold the flag. 4. Patches -- including a reverse image of a U.S. flag -- accompanied the flag and notes sent to Matt. 5. A member of the security unit adds a note to Matt. 6. Notes, the certificate verifying the flag was flown in his honor, and patches from personnel. 7. Matt with his parents Barbara and Tom, in their Toms River home. Photos of Matt and his family, credit Karen Wall. Photos from Kuwait, credit Sgt. Bud.)