Wounded Warriors



The past week was Armed Forces Week. In a city which is home to not just one military installation but five of them, I can tell you that they really know how to pay tribute to the Armed Forces. Even when I was shopping in SEARS yesterday, there was a benefit going on for the military as they raised money for the troops through customer donations. Every couple of minutes there would be an announcement from one or more of the cashiers saying there was a donation of x amount of dollars from his or her department. It gave me a good feeling as I walked through and listened to the thanks for the generosity of others toward those who serve.

But it was also the week for the Wounded Warrior Games. Men and women from all branches of he military - including the Coast Guard - were here for four days of friendly competition. Friendly, but fierce. And each athlete had a story - whether they sat on the gymnasium floor playing volleyball using the specially designed net, or doing laps in a swimming pool with artificial limbs powering them across the water, or scoring points on a basketball court. But the story wasn't in the handicap or injury, it was in each athlete's strength to overcome it all.
When I think of the fact that Ron and I have a daughter/soldier who will see the other side of an ocean with in a year, and a son in law/soldier who will soon travel to the sand for the 4th time, I can only look at these young men and women with respect for their courage and sacrifice. The fear that my children may be asked to sacrifice their well being, or more, is one of the things about this Two Star mom thing that never goes away, (another being pride).
And when I see these Wounded Warriors, I see that they do not want to be pitied, nor thought of as heroes. What they ask of their country is the chance to be equals - the hope that their superiors will consider them worthy to remain in the world's greatest military if they so choose.
They are scarred, yes. But who they are isn't in the scars - it's in their courage. It's in the desire in their hearts to be considered worthy to remain in their jobs in whatever branch they have been serving, and to keep whatever rank they hold. To be given the chance to prove who they really are didn't leave when they were injured, or when the PTSD came home with them.
Wounded Warriors? Perhaps on the outside - but the strength on the inside lets us see who they really are:
The very best.
God bless our troops wherever they may serve. And those who love them - that we might have just a small portion of their strength.