Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Photography Courtesy of Margy Bons

In early May 2005, Margy Bons received a call from her son Michael Adam Marzano, a sergeant with the United States Marine Corps.

“He said, ‘I’ll call you on Mother’s Day, Mom,” Bons recalls. “On Saturday, May 7, I was out collecting items to ship overseas for an organization I was working with. I had gone into a grocery store because we needed a donation jug. I reached up to grab this jug off of the top shelf when this weird feeling washed over me and I almost dropped it. “Somebody asked me, ‘Are you okay?’ to which I responded, ‘I do not know. Something does not feel right.’”

That night, at 12:30 a.m., Bons received a phone call from her ex-husband, notifying her that Marines were outside her house and that she needed to open the front door. Although they had mistakenly gone to her former residence, she immediately knew that Marines at a loved one’s house could only mean three things — all of which were bad news.

Praying to hear that Marzano had only been wounded in action — the least devastating of the three — Bons feared the worst. When the Marines arrived at her new residence, one stepped forward and said, “Ma’am, we regret to inform you…”

“I said, ‘Nope,’” Bons recalls. “‘He promised me that he would only be gone seven months. You need to have him call me.’ I was just refusing to accept what he was trying to tell me. And the other Marine had tears in his eyes because, you know, they are just guys, too. They had just lost a brother.”

Marzano had been killed in action when a bomb in a suicide vehicle exploded during combat in Hadithah, Iraq. He was 28 years old.

“Did I lay in my closet and scream, kick and cry?” Bons asks. “Absolutely. Did I pound my fists on my steering wheel? Yes. You cannot break them. Believe me, I have tried. I even thought about driving over that cliff. But thoughts about the brotherhood of those in our military kept coming to me.”

As a reservist, Marzano would at times express difficulty paying for essentials such as car fuel and rent.

“I remembered that and thought, ‘I do not want [another young man or woman in our military] having to ask his mom for money or a mom worrying about whether her child is going to be able to pay [his or her] bills,’” Bons says. “I needed to do something about that.”

After being contacted by then-Mayor Phil Gordon regarding a soldier in need, Bons accepted a position as the Arizona president of a national nonprofit military support organization. A few years later, she sought to do more and founded Military Assistance Mission — a nonprofit organization that provides financial and moral aid to struggling Arizona military and their families.

“Military Assistance Mission allows me the opportunity to support not only Michael’s comrades overseas, but to help with their families that are struggling at home,” says Bons, noting that the nonprofit organization and her son intentionally share the same three initials.

MAM provides financial support to those struggling with rent, mortgage, auto insurance, utilities and auto payments. It also hosts morale programs and events for holiday adoptions, holiday gift giving and baby showers, as well as offers education assistance programs, including extracurricular activities and college scholarship programs.

Bons says that, as CEO, she is always eager to hear from those who wish to donate their time or resources to MAM. On Saturday, Oct. 21, the nonprofit organization will host its annual Flappers & Freedom event — an unforgettable evening of casino games, delicious food, dancing and live auctions, with all proceeds benefitting the families of our brave servicemen and women.

“One of my fondest memories took place immediately following one of our Christmas events, at which families are given the opportunity to select gifts for one another among donated items and enjoy a holiday carnival,” Bons says. “I was walking through the parking lot, making sure that it was all cleaned up, when I witnessed a little girl straddle her mom and say to her, ‘This was my best day ever!’”

“To this day, I still think about how Michael helped to make this little girl’s ‘best day ever.’ I hate that I lost him, but he is still doing a really good job. I am just so proud of him.”

Bons describes her son as “the king of one-liners.”

“He had a really quick wit and this huge sense of humor — and a huge heart,” says Bons, noting that Marzano had always wanted to follow in his father’s and grandfathers’ footsteps and serve his country in the military. “He had actually signed up immediately after high school graduation; but he blew out his knee in a wrestling tournament, so he started pursuing a career as a heavyweight boxer instead.”

Marzano — for whom the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Hermitage, PA is dedicated and named — was training to box in the Olympics when he finally received the call to be a Marine.

“I will tell you that, as a mom, I was not happy,” Bons says. “But I have actually spoken to my son’s recruiter since he was killed. He apologized to me and I asked, ‘Why? For giving my son the job that he has always wanted. You cannot be sorry about that. He finally got to be a Marine.

“Michael could have died by a drunk driver. He could have died in a work accident. He could have died many different ways. After all, we are all going to die. There is no way around that. It is what you do in your dash that is important. In Michael’s dash, he had a lot of fun. He had a great life. He was a joy to be around. Unfortunately, his dash was really short. But he died doing what he had always wanted to do.

“Believe me, I hate it. I still have my mom moments; because, after all, I am just a mom. Losing my son rocked my world. But he died doing what he wanted to do, and I have come to terms with that. He died defending our country. A small percentage of us go into the military and would be willing to sacrifice our life for others; and he did.”

Bons adds that the loss of her son led her to lobby the Arizona House, Senate and DMV to approve the design of a Gold Star family license plate, recognizing those whose loved ones made the same sacrifice during the Vietnam War.

“Michael is a hero,” Marzano’s mother acknowledges. “Not everyone who dies is titled that. And he is still making a difference.”

Flappers & Freedom
Saturday, Oct. 21 // 6–10 p.m. // Elks Lodge No. 335, 14424 N. 32nd St, Phoenix //
$125+ // 602-246-6429 // azmam.org