Melvin Gatewood

Melvin is a retired Army combat veteran and the co-founder of Operation Continue Service, a veteran non-profit dedicated to remembering fallen military personnel and supporting the veteran's community. He is also a Certified Peer Support Specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Nashville, TN, working within the Primary Care Mental Health Integration clinic. He was born in Memphis, TN, and raised in Columbus, MS. He has been employed with the Federal Government for more than 14 years and has held many positions. Melvin enlisted into the Mississippi Army National Guard during high school; and completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. On April 19, 2005, he was injured on a convoy mission in Iraq when the vehicle he was driving ran over an IED (Improvised Explosive Device.) Melvin overcame the odds placed against him by many medical providers and recovered from his injuries. In 2016 he decided to enroll back in school and completed his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Strayer University in 2019. Melvin has received many awards and accolades, including The Purple Heart for wounded obtained during combat. He was honored by the Mississippi Legislature for his bravery during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was honored as the 12th Titan by the Tennessee Titans for his service to veterans in Middle TN; he was selected as the inaugural Wounded Warrior Project Rusty Baggett Peer Leader of the Year award recipient in 2021. He was chosen by Star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, USAA, and the Wounded Warrior Project to attend Super Bowl LVI. He was most recently honored by Navy Federal Credit Union and the Nashville Predators as the Military Hero of the game during the 2022 Stadium Series. Hel currently volunteers as a Peer Support Group leader with the Wounded Warrior Project in Nashville, TN.

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Melvin has a heart for helping others, especially our veteran population. This is why he created OPERATION CONTINUE SERVICE in 2021 to continue to serve his fellow veterans and his community. Operation Continue Service supports the veteran community by performing memorial rucks and recovery rucks and hosting veteran coffee socials. Rucking is a military term for walking with a weighted backpack. A memorial ruck is performed to honor and remember fallen military personnel who have died in the line of duty. A recovery ruck is performed to bring awareness to veteran suicide and mental health issues. The ruck symbolizes the weight that veterans carry during and after military service. Lastly, the veteran coffee social is intended to bring veterans together to socialize and receive information from local, state, and federal agencies. Operation Continue Service aims to assist with starting coffee socials throughout Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi by connecting with community partners and veteran stakeholders. Melvin also desires to perform recovery rucks across the country, spreading hope to veterans and fellow Americans. He also wants to raise funds for an RV that will serve as a mobile coffee shop to visit small rural towns and homebound veterans to deliver free coffee and donuts.