FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When fans arrive for the 124th Army-Navy Game presented by USAA at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 9, they can see a memorial to a young Naval Academy graduate on the main concourse. This is more than a memorial. It is a tribute and living legacy to a young naval officer whose life was cut short by a drunken driver.

For the past 15 years, the New England Patriots, New England Revolution and Kraft Sports + Entertainment have partnered with the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign to save lives by promoting the use of designated drivers to prevent drinking and driving. Each year, more than 10,000 fans take the pledge not to drink and drive at HERO booths on the main concourse. In exchange, they receive free soft drinks at the stadium concessions and a thank you from the organization that was inspired by a promising Naval Academy graduate who dreamed of serving his country as a naval aviator.

A national merit scholar and president of his high school class in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., John excelled at the Naval Academy, graduating near the top of his class with a B.S. in Systems Engineering. He also was selected the Outstanding HERO of his graduating class for his character and leadership as a Human Education Resource Officer for his fellow shipmates.

Early on the morning of July 22, 2000, as John and his girlfriend were driving from Annapolis to his family home at the New Jersey shore for his mother’s birthday, John’s car was hit head-on by a truck driven by a man who had been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) only three hours earlier, then released to a friend who put him back behind the wheel, still intoxicated. The ensuing crash killed both men and injured John’s girlfriend, Kristen Hohenwarter, who was critically injured, but later recovered.

In response to the tragic loss of their son, his family established the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, which has grown into a national cause in partnership with law enforcement, schools, colleges, the alcohol industry and highway safety agencies.

Patriots Chief Operating Officer Jim Nolan said the HERO Campaign plays a vital role in Gillette Stadium’s efforts to prevent drinking and driving: “Each year Gillette Stadium, the Patriots and the Revolution set national records registering fans to be designated drivers for their friends and families. They simply scan a QR code and take the HERO Pledge not to drink and drive, either pledging to be a designated driver or to use one whenever they enjoy alcoholic beverages.”

John was laid to rest at the Naval Academy cemetery in Annapolis among famous naval heroes. His time as an officer was short, but his legacy has lived on through the HERO Campaign and the Capstone Officer Leadership Seminar at the Academy, which provides lessons in moral and ethical leadership in John’s memory for close to 1,000 graduating first class Midshipmen each year.

“We know John would have accomplished great things had he lived, and now, through the HERO Campaign and the Capstone Seminars, his legacy of service and spirit of giving will live on,” stated his father Bill, co-chairman of the John R. Elliott Foundation with his wife Muriel and John’s sister Jennifer.