When social responsibility comes to mind many people think of philanthropy. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings instead draw our attention to social responsibility in the form of liberation. This theme of liberating others has been a thread that has shaped Jim Moriarty’s life as a lawyer, Marine, father, and athlete. Moriarty has a unique gift in spotting what needs liberating and then finding means to enable freedom to emerge. This freedom comes in the form of liberating Olympic dreams, schools limited in educational funding, struggling American soldiers, and victims of corporate greed and deceit.

Before his formal education as a lawyer, Moriarty already had a zest for fighting for justice. Moriarty’s three tours of Vietnam (a request on his part) were fueled by his “passion for what (he) believes in” and a desire to challenge himself and rise above expectations others had set for him. “It’s the quest, not the fame,” that still drives him. A high school dropout and voluntarily enlisted soldier, Moriarty was released from active duty as a Sergeant (four rankings above where he entered) with two single mission air medals under his belt for heroic achievement. Years after Moriarty’s Vietnam tours, he had the opportunity to liberate for a second time a fellow soldier who was successfully acquitted of manslaughter and released from death row by reason of insanity. This case was the earliest successful trials in which a Vietnam Vet’s actions were attributed to post traumatic stress disorder. Moriarty’s first encounter with this soldier had been in the jungles of Vietnam where he and the members of his emergency gunship (helicopter with guns) riskily dropped down with little gas and ammunition remaining to save the soldier and 2 other men. For this gun run with a pistol Moriarty received a medal of heroism.

Part of liberty is keeping recognition alive for those who served their country so that they don’t become trapped in a secluded group of forgotten people who understand their heroism. Moriarty has also invested his own money in restoring a UH 34 and donating an A-4 Skyhawk to the Collings Foundation(a non-profit, educational foundation, founded to organize and support "living history" events involving transportation). Both machines are now flown in air shows across the nation in memory of those who selflessly and bravely served their country. Moriarty also established, published and served as the editor for Pop a Smoke, the quarterly publication for the United States Marine Corps Combat Helicopter Association. Today, Moriarty serves as the only lawyer and one of the few enlisted soldiers to be elected to the board of directors for the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.

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