Honors for a Royal Marine

British Royal Marine Ross Austen rose from his wheelchair, his right hand gripping a cane, and carefully made his way to a painting depicting an American and British service member that stood in a place of honor at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Tuesday.
“It’s a really nice painting,” the soft-spoken Ross said.
Surrounded by his family -wife, Sarah, son, Aaron, dad Ashley, mom, Karen and brother Scott, Austen was presented with the painting, Side by Side, by the non-profit organization Azalea Charities.
“Because of what he has done, being wounded and wanting to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon and wanting to raise money for [Team Azalea Charities], that was super,” said Frank Lasch, chairman of the Azalea Charities.
Team Azalea Charities is the online fundraising program of Azalea Charities, Inc, Aid for Wounded Soldiers project. This year, Team Azalea Charities partnered with the British Army Benevolent Fund America to enable team members to become advocates and raise funds for U.S. and British wounded service personnel. Team members raced in the 26.2-mile Marine Marathon on Oct. 25.
Austen, 27, was serving with Commando Engineer Regiment in Afghanistan when he was injured in a Nov. 19, 2008 explosion that left him with severe leg injuries. Austen, who also served in Iraq, was on his second deployment to Afghanistan when the blast occurred. Since then he has undergone 14 surgeries, but that did not deter him from participating in the marathon.
“It was quite incredible,” Austen said of the race.
Side by Side was painted by artist Dean Baer and is a highly stylized portrayal of two soldiers, one draped in the Stars and Stripes and the other in the Union Jack. Baer completed the painting on behalf of the Azalea Charities, which is headquartered in Prince William County. To learn more about Azalea Charities, visit azaleacharities.com.