We are United States Marine Corps (USMC) veteran brothers from the 1st Battalion 8th Marines. We’re raising funds for our brother, USMC veteran Jon Opon, as he suffers a long hard fought battle of Burkitt's Lymphoma cancer, a fast growing blood cancer that is associated with impaired immunity and has become fatal, even after treatment.

With Jon by our side, we deployed in 2004 and fought together in the Second Battle of Fallujah during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the bloodiest battle since the Vietnam War. We vowed our brotherhood bond would never be broken, even after completion of our military service. We have seen each other fight through our own personal pains and battles, fall in love, get married, and have children of our own. We’ve checked in on one another, and even took the time to travel long distances when one of us was down.

In October 2019, we were faced with our latest battle. Jon Opon was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma cancer. He has been fighting so hard since then, even when doctors gave up on him. After months of painful treatment, Jon continues to keep fighting until his body is completely exhausted. Close to giving up, Jon’s wife Krystine reached out to his band of brothers for support. When the doctors gave him only two weeks to live, our 1st Battalion 8th Marines brothers found a program that would give Jon a fighting chance. We all traveled to reunite with Jon, and the presence of his brothers lifted his spirits so much, he became more determined than ever to keep fighting.

We enrolled our brother Jon into a cancer treatment program knowing we would never take “no” for an answer regardless of what the experts told us. The treatment offered seemed so promising at first, extending his life by a few weeks. Things are looking somewhat hopeful, with some chance of survival. However, the medical, travel, and hotel expenses are piling up, left for Jon’s life-long partner of 15-years, Krystine and their young children to handle themselves.

We need to raise $100,000 to cover the mounting medical expenses, travel, hotel costs, and additional expenses like child care, that have been accumulating during treatment.

Jon is a patriot, Marine, father to two beautiful children: their daughter Penny, and son Kian. He’s a loving husband to his wife Kristyne. At the age of thirty-eight, Jon had accomplished a life to be proud of. He lost brothers, and gained new ones that will be there for the rest of his life.

We, United States 1st Battalion 8th Marines are a brotherhood. Jon is, and always will be, our brother...from now, until the day we die, wherever we go, every Marine is our brother. Marines die. But the Marine Corps lives forever, and that means our brotherhood lives forever. Thank you for your support. We will be forever and truly grateful for your selfless contribution to our cause in honor of our brother Jon, a great man who fought so hard to protect and defend his country, who is now fighting hard to protect his own life.


Please assist us in spreading the word for our cause by sharing our GoFundMe link on your Facebook Timeline and all social media outlets! #fightingwithjon

[https://www.gofundme.com/f/fighting-burkitt039s-lymphoma-a-marines-battle?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_lico%2Bupdate&fbclid=IwAR1YPsyn2vnTF5KWslx60thDb-krG0OuTMVrizFIC2sznBW3Em0rELU6gWw](https://)