GFAFB Base Youth named 2013 Navy Child of the Year

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Luis Loza Gutierrez
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D --  The awards just keep rolling in for one teen in the Grand Forks Air Force Base community.

Xander Burch, the base's 2012 Youth of the Year, has now been named the U.S. Navy's 2013 Military Child of the Year.

His mother, Joanne, works on base and his father, David, is a retired chief petty officer who served 24 years in the Navy before retiring in the Grand Forks area.

Xander will travel to Washington, D.C., to take part in the Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award Gala celebration in April.

"I think that our military kids are who they are because of the hardships, the moves, and their adaptability," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said during last year's awards presentation.

Xander, a member and frequent volunteer at the Grand Forks AFB Youth Center, won his award after earning outstanding grades and completing countless hours of community service throughout his young life; a life that has brought unexpected challenges beyond his father's military deployments and the frequent moves most military families experience.

"Xander was born at twenty-five weeks and he only weighed about one-and-a-half pounds," said his mother, an Air Force civilian employee who works with the 319th Force Support Squadron. "He was not expected to survive the night."

He survived, but when he was 4, doctors discovered he was hearing impaired and that he would continue to lose his hearing with age.

Xander calls his hearing impairment a "minor obstacle," that hasn't prevented him from tackling any task.

He's excelled in helping others, a personal trait he attributes to morals and values instilled in him by his parents.

While living in Guam, then 9-year-old Xander collected food and water and delivered supplies to villagers who lost their homes in a devastating typhoon.

The honors student and chess enthusiast logged 400 hours of volunteer service in 2012, which included creating a video for an anti-bullying campaign and helping children in Africa by collecting running shoes and shorts for two months last summer. He paid for all of the shipping and handling charges with tips he earned working as a bagger at the base commissary.

"There is nothing he will not do and 'no' does not appear to be in his vocabulary," said Dawn Thompson, Director of Youth Programs here. "He is an inspiration for all kids and many adults."

Thousands of kids from military families are nominated for the national award with only one winner representing each branch of the service. In addition to the trip to our nation's capital, recipients are awarded a laptop computer and a $5,000 cash prize.

(Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of U.S. service members and wounded warriors. A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers across 23 chapters and has met more than 590,000 needs since 2002.)