Navy Medicine Training Support Center (NMTSC) Sailors wrapped their fourth annual holiday toy drive on the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), Joint Base San Antonio - Fort Sam Houston, Dec. 4, in fellow killed-in-action hospital corpsman's honor.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Christopher Anderson deployed with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines to Ramadi, Iraq, when he passed away Dec. 4, 2006. Several hospital corpsmen at NMTSC knew Anderson, and a few were on deployment with him at the time.

"The goal of this toy drive is to gather toys to deliver to the Marine Corps 'Toys for Tots,' and it's in honor of our fallen brother," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Tristan McCauley, a Basic Medical Technician/Corpsmen Program (BMTCP) instructor. "He loved kids ... [and] giving toys to kids. So his family in Colorado started the toy drive for him, and we decided to do the same here."

BMTCP is taught in Anderson Hall at METC, which honors his name. McCauley, who deployed with Anderson, volunitarily led coordination efforts for the drive this year.

Anderson's parents, Rick and Debbie Anderson has held the toy drive every year in his hometown of Longmont, Colorado, for seven years. They donate everything to the Longmont Police Department in his name, and the toys are distributed to families in need.

"If he were alive right now and he could see what we are doing in San Antonio, he'd be ecstatic because this is what it's all about - giving back," said McCauley.

Anderson spent a lot of time in Iraq giving back as much as he could to the area's children, receiving donations in packages from his family with toys and school supplies, said Chief Hospital Corpsman Albert Ramirez, a METC instructor who was a mentor to Anderson in Iraq.

"He'd definitely be happy with this," said Ramirez. "I'm pretty sure if he were still around, he'd try to put something like this together on his own to do something for the Toys for Tots campaign."

McCauley said he believes the toy drive has a long and bright future.

"This is a toy drive that will continue as long as this building is standing," said McCauley. "There are plenty of 1st battalion, 6th Marines corpsmen who will walk in and out of this building, and we'll make sure that his legacy carries on, and this toy drive is part of his legacy."

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