Clay’s Legacy

1LT Clayton ‘Clay’ Cullen was born July 9, 1992, in Evansville, the son of Robert Joseph and Julie Ann (Curry) Cullen. As a student at North Knox High School in Bicknell, Indiana, he was a member of the National Honor Society and the MVP of the soccer team. Known as a selfless, outgoing leader, Clay dedicated himself to helping others and even traveled to Sri Lanka as a part of a church mission trip.

At Indiana University, Clay studied history and he was a member of the IU Army ROTC Class of 2015. Following graduation, he joined the Army and served with the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado as an Apache Pilot with the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade. 

On Saturday January 20, 2018 Clay was killed when the Apache Helicopter he was piloting crashed during tactical training at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. 

Honoring Clay

Clay was a highly admired and respected member of the Indiana University Army ROTC program. He will be missed, but never forgotten. Indiana University is grateful for his service and leadership to IU and the Army. To honor Clay, funds are being raised to establish an endowed scholarship. 

This endowment will support IU students like Clay, who are role-models in their communities and leaders in the IU Army ROTC. To date, almost $20,000 has been raised for this scholarship, but we need to raise $5,000 more to ensure this scholarship is awarded for years to come.

If we fall short of raising $25,000 total, all donated funds will still be distributed via scholarships to IU cadets over a fixed period of time, but the scholarship will not be held in perpetuity. 

Please, help us honor Clay’s legacy by making a gift today. Your tax-deductible donation directly supports a future scholarship for IU ROTC students.