At first glance, GallantFew may appear like just another veterans nonprofit. But to U.S. Marine Corps veteran Zachary Ceballos, it was a lifeline and the start of something bigger.
Stories of Honor is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting 12 Tarrant County veterans who are serving beyond the uniform.
We also are highlighting nonprofits recommended by the veterans.
In November, the veterans will gather for a luncheon where the Report will honor their service at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington.
After returning home from Camp Pendleton in 2012, Ceballos said he was spiraling. Struggling with divorce, homelessness and depression, he couldn’t shake the trauma from his 2011 deployment to Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, a unit that lost 17 Marines and saw nearly 200 wounded.
Two of those killed were his best friends, Lance Cpls. Sean O’Connor and Joe Jackson.
The day O’Connor was killed, Ceballos said he had the honor of placing his friend’s body in a helicopter, sending him home.
“That was probably the hardest day of my entire life,” Ceballos said.
Founded by U.S. Army Ranger veteran Karl Monger, GallantFew exists to bridge the civilian-military gap, offering personalized support, career guidance and peer connection. The organization focuses on helping veterans reclaim their identity and mental wellness, often by preparing them to become counselors or mentors themselves.
Once home, Ceballos grew angrier and more withdrawn. At a memorial event for the Marines lost, he said, he realized he was dealing with severe PTSD and physical injuries. He was unsure where to turn, but a fellow Marine passed him Monger’s number.
The two have developed a strong friendship. Later, Monger offered him a full-time role at GallantFew as a veteran support specialist, Ceballos said.
Zachary Ceballos, a Marine Corps veteran, kneels next to the headstone of Lance Cpl. Joe Jackson, his friend who died during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011, at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. (Courtesy photo | Zachary Ceballos)
Ceballos is now set to graduate from the University of North Texas in the spring of 2026, using his GI Bill. He spends his days helping other veterans on similar paths, he said.
“We’re trying to cultivate a whole network of mental health professionals who’ve been there,” Ceballos said.
That philosophy drives GallantFew’s broader mission, not just healing veterans, but empowering them to help others. The nonprofit has provided more than 38,000 services to over 8,000 veterans, according to Monger.
“The military spends years shaping service members into warriors,” Monger said. “But when it’s time to leave, you get a one-week transition course.”
Becoming a licensed counselor can take up to seven years, longer if a veteran has no college background. Supervision sessions alone can cost $200 each, Monger said. GallantFew raises funds to knock down those barriers and support veterans through the process.
“If we want more veteran counselors, we have to actually make that path possible,” Monger said.
From right to left, Marines Zachary Ceballos and Cpl. Jarred Taylor prepare to breach a compound in the Sangin district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2011. The mission targeted a Taliban associate suspected of aiding in the construction of improvised explosive devices. (Courtesy photo | Zachary Ceballos)
The group has partnered with Denton County Military Veteran Peer Network. Sponsors that help fund GallantFew include Chevrolet and the Texas Veterans Commission. One initiative, Freedom Reins, is an eight-week program where veterans build trust and connection through horsemanship.
That support proved transformative for Douglas Rhodes, a retired U.S. Air Force Master Sgt., who was referred to GallantFew through Tarrant County Veterans Treatment Court.
“I didn’t value my veteran status. I didn’t care what anyone thought,” Rhodes said.
Alcoholism had taken hold. Legal trouble followed. Then came Monger.
“I asked him, ‘You retired as a Master Sgt., right?’ And when he said yes, I said, ‘When’s the last time you acted like one?”” Monger recalled. “It was like reaching through the screen and punching him in the nose.”
That moment snapped Rhodes out of his fog. He’s been sober since 2023 and now mentors others in the same program, Rhodes said. He even coordinates GallantFew’s indoor rock climbing sessions at a Grapevine gym.
Maj. Karl Monger’s medals and honors gleam in their glass case July 3, 2025, in Roanoke. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
“Before that, I would’ve never set foot in a climbing gym,” Rhodes said. “Now, I’m there three times a week.”
He never realized how important embracing his identity as a veteran was until GallantFew helped him. The connection, discipline and accountability clicked, Rhodes said.
“Veterans don’t want to talk to somebody that’s never been in the military,” Monger said. “They want someone who’s been in their shoes, to challenge them.”
Through counseling, rock climbing, retreats and peer mentorship, GallantFew is building a model centered on trust and shared experience. Ceballos said a recent sweat lodge retreat with Lakota elders in Colorado helped several participants work through long-buried trauma.
“Some of us were crying,” Ceballos said. “There was so much gratitude for Monger. I’ve seen this organization prevent suicides. I’ve seen it give people back their lives.”
GallantFew doesn’t claim to have all the answers, Ceballos said, but it offers something many veterans can’t find elsewhere: someone who understands and won’t let them walk alone.
“I don’t make a lot of money,” Ceballos said. “But when a veteran says, ‘Thanks for listening,’ that makes my freaking day.”
Hearing those words, Ceballos said, is how he gets paid, emotionally.
Orlando Torres is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at orlando.torres@fortworthreport.org.
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