Toys For Tots Chief and Decorated Veteran to be Honored by Toyota at December 3rd Rams Game

ST. LOUIS, Mo., Dec. 1 -- Iraq veteran Marine Sgt. Michael Ryan will be honored as part of the Toyota Truck Salute to the Military this Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006 by attending the St. Louis Rams football game as the VIP guest of Toyota.

The 37-year-old Ryan is the second of four honorees in the Toyota Truck Salute to the Military. Toyota will honor a different military veteran at each of the remaining Rams home games.

Ryan is currently the Non-Commission Officer-In-Charge of the Funeral Honors and Special Events Office for the Midwest since his return to St. Louis in March.

A St. Louis native, Ryan is currently serving his second tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. After serving from 1989 until 1993, which included a tour in support of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, he left the Marines and settled into a marketing job for a logistics company. It was during this time he met and married his wife, Kelly.

Like so many Americans, Ryan was deeply affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In fact, he felt compelled to re-enlist in the Marines and serve his country once again. After an evening-long discussion with his wife, he enlisted in the Marine Reserves on Sept. 12, 2001.

"It was the big conversation of the year," he said. "I wasn't married to her when I was in the Marines the first time. She didn't understand what being a Marine was. You've got this inside you, it's in your heart. I showed her pictures from my first tour. It was convincing and she has supported me ever since."

Ryan was recalled to active duty, along with most of his reserve battalion, in 2004, and after completing training at Camp Pendleton in California, he was deployed to Iraq in March 2004 for a seven-month tour, where he served as a platoon sergeant for a force protection platoon comprised of 62 Marines and 10 soldiers from the Army.

Stationed in Anbar Province, his platoon patrolled an area between Fallujah and Ramadi. Additionally, he was cross-trained as a tactical photographer.

"I worked with a weapons company on foot patrol doing photo reconnaissance for the intelligence office," he explained. "I would lay in a hole from where I'd shoot pictures. I used a long 1500mm lens and take pictures, then I'd download and radio them back to the intelligence office. They'd use those photos to decide if the bad guys are in there and then they could cordon and search the house. It was a dream job."

The dual roles resulted in many long nights with little sleep, and earned him a Navy Commendation Medal. Ryan's tour ended in October 2004 and he returned to Camp Pendleton, then to St. Louis in January 2005. Like most military personnel returning home, Ryan's focus was on family.

"I just wanted to have a beer with each member of my family," he said. "I did a tour of my family and went to everyone's house to see them and tell them how much I loved and appreciated them. I wanted to spend time with my sons. It was kind of surreal. On Monday I was at Camp Pendleton and then that Saturday I was at my son's soccer game watching him play."

In March, Ryan was appointed to his current post as the NCOIC of Funeral Honors and Special Events Office, where he oversees a company of 12 Marines. His office is in charge of arranging funerals for personnel, retired and active, as well as arranging appearances of the Marine Color Guard at various events.

In addition to those responsibilities, he heads up the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program for the city of St. Louis and wielding two cell phones like a wild west cowboy.

"It's crazy," he said. "I'm carrying two cell phones and they're ringing off the hook. It's really busy."

Toyota will give Ryan, his wife Kelly and their eight-year-old son, Liam, the VIP treatment at the December 3rd St. Louis Rams game against Arizona. The Ryans will be guests of Toyota and receive complete hospitality at the Toyota VIP tent, which will also showcase the all-new 2007 Toyota Tundra.

The full-size Toyota Tundra will be the largest, most powerful pickup truck ever offered by Toyota when it goes on sale in February 2007. It was designed and engineered in the U.S. and will be built at Toyota plants in Gibson County, Indiana and San Antonio, Texas. Tundra's all-new platform will feature a significantly expanded wheelbase, an increase of 10 inches in overall length, nearly five inches in height and four inches in width. The new Tundra will come in three cab configurations and offer a choice of three engines, including a new 5.7-liter V8 capable of towing over 10,000 pounds.