An event for Sgt. Eddie Ryan at The Holiday Inn raised over $30,000 toward his trip to be reunited with his Marines.

Ryan, who was shot in the head in Iraq, is heading to Florida to see some of the Marines in his unit. He has not seen some of them since April 2005.

His family has scoured the country looking for an RV to travel down to Florida. Because of his injury, he can’t fly.

A few hundred people attended the event and the support for Ryan was palpable in the room.

“Our community loves Eddie and quite frankly, we wish we could do more for him,” said Vinnie Crocitto, owner of The Holiday Inn.