Modern War Heroes

WEATHERFORD — First, Army Spc. Brett Wolf was treated to the ride of his life.

Driver Tony Stewart took the avid NASCAR fan for a spin around the track Tuesday during Stewart’s “Smoke Show” at Texas Motor Speedway. For Wolf, who was severely wounded when his minesweeper struck a bomb in Iraq, it was a chance to meet a hero of his. For Stewart, it was a similar feeling.

“[Stewart] said, ‘I don’t understand why people think I’m a hero,’ ” TMS spokesman Mike Rizzo said. “He goes, ‘Brett’s the hero.’ ”

But Wednesday topped even that experience. More than 100 volunteers and workers began construction on a home for Wolf, 25, and his wife, Kelly, about 13 miles northwest of Weatherford as a part of the Homes for Our Troops program. Wolf suffered severe arm and face injuries and his legs were amputated above the knee after the Sept. 11, 2007, blast.

The Wolfs arrived at the site in a TMS pace car escorted by motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Riders. After an hour and a half, wall frames were already up.

Wolf found it hard to put his feelings into words.

“It’s a dream come true,” Wolf said. “It’s overwhelming, all these people helping, and they already had the walls up. It’s crazy.”

Since suffering his injuries, Wolf has been in military hospitals and rehabilitation centers from Washington, D.C., to San Antonio for almost two years.

“We didn’t know what we were going to do. We didn’t have the money to buy an accessible house,” said Kelly Wolf, who put school on hold to take care of her husband. “It’s amazing now, knowing that we have this.”

By the time he is released from physical therapy in about six months, his new home will be ready. Sandlin Custom Homes is building the house using largely donated materials — everything from the lumber to the lighting.

“We’ve been scrambling, trying to get everyone together, but it just seems like the whole community, from our suppliers to our employees, have come out in full force,” Scott Sandlin of Sandlin Homes said. “It’s wonderful to give something to someone who has given so much for our country.” Read on…

This is really wonderful that this brave veteran could have his community reach out to him like this. We all really should find ways to show our appreciation to our men and women in uniform. I know it means a lot to them.

Yesterday I found another program dedicated to supporting our troops in the field called Operation AC. One of their main focuses is sending care packages to the soldiers. Currently they also have a couple special projects going on. One is a letter project to help support our wounded soldiers in Iraq. Operation AC feels these soldiers need a little morale boost, and what better way than to get thank you letters acknowledging all they’ve done for us?

Operation AC also has a project for Afgani children. They are collecting and sending clothing and money to an orphanage in Afghanistan. Check out this link for more details on these programs.

In Illinois the people are doing a little more to honor their men and women in service. They’ve created an organization called Sgt. Tommy’s Kids, an outreach program designed for the children and families of soldiers and people in the police/fire departments. It is named for a soldier named Thomas Gilbert, a young man who didn’t have children of his own, but wherever he went the children would flock to him. He was unfortunately killed while serving in Iraq.

Writer Mike Clifford is the one who originally started the project. He wanted to find some way to help out and heal the children who are often left behind by conflict. This article has more detail on Clifford and his plans for Sgt. Tommy’s Kids.

Jessica and Colton Read

When we go to the doctor, we place our utmost trust in them. We expect them to try their best to help with whatever problem it is that brought us to their service. So when a doctor ends up causing even more damage than the original diagnosis, our trust is severely shaken.

Such is the case with Colton Read. He was scheduled for surgery at David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base for a routine operation – he needed to have his gall-bladder removed. But what should have been a routine surgery turned into a nightmare when the surgeon cut his aortic artery.

Jessica Read says around 10 a.m., about an hour into the procedure, “A nurse runs out, ‘We need blood now,’ and she rounds the corner and my gut feelings is, ‘Oh my God, is that my husband?’”

She says his Air Force general surgeon mistakenly cut her husband’s aortic artery, but waited hours to transport him to a state hospital which has a vascular surgeon. “It took them until 5:30 to get him to UC Davis. I don’t understand.” (source)

Due to the surgeon’s negligence, the tremendous  loss of blood resulted in him losing both legs.

His mother sobbed, “I watched him take his first steps, and now his legs are gone.”

Despite the fact that this entire tragedy rest solely on the military surgeon’s shoulder, the family is unable to sue for damages. Why?? Because of on old federal law called the Feres Doctrine. Leave it to the government to protect themselves from their own mistakes. This is what is called an “outrage”. This man served country, and when they screw up this horrifically, they do nothing to help him.

For now, Read’s wife says the military may place him on medical retirement, in which he’ll likely receive less than half his $1600 monthly salary. “I can’t understand why they won’t help him when they did this to him.”

It’s not right. And the kicker? He still hasn’t gotten the gall-bladder removed.

HOUSTON — Under a new Texas law, some disabled veterans will no longer have to pay taxes on their homes while others will have to fork over less money in property taxes.

The law, signed by Gov. Rick Perry in June, took effect immediately and is retroactive to Jan. 1.

The law allows disabled veterans to qualify for complete exemption if the Department of Veterans Affairs determines they are unable to work or are receiving 100 percent disability compensation due to their military service. Veterans with disability ratings of 30 percent, 50 percent or 70 percent will have different levels of exemption. Read on…

This is really fabulous. Our veterans really deserve to get a break. After being disabled in a war, life back home is difficult. And when you are living off of disability, it’s even harder. The article mentions that many states do offer some form of tax exemption to veterans, but here’s hoping that all states will start implementing veteran tax breaks.

When a soldier gets a care package or just a simple letter, it can really mean a lot. I found this article encouraging more people to consider donating to these causes. It also includes this letter written by a soldier who received one of these care packages:

Aunt Mary Ann,

I just wanted to say thank you for the boxes that were sent by you and your co-workers. It was incredibly thoughtful of everyone at the Offices of Education to think of me and my guys here. We pretty much ran straight through all the food (thanks for considering my attempts at maintaining a fit and healthy weight with the food choice) and gave all the T-shirts away to the young Afghan guys who work around the FOB as interpreters, handymen and general maintenance workers. You can pretty much count on seeing at least one P.E.R.F.E.C.T STUDENT T-shirt somewhere on the FOB on any given day.

If you don’t mind forwarding this along, I would also like to say thanks especially to: Danielle, Rick, Jeri, Renee, Sandy, and Vicki! It really makes my day anytime I get anything from home, but your thoughtful and personal notes really do help to keep morale up and at least keep me, personally, focused on the task at hand — so that I can make it through another day, another week, another year away.

No matter what anyone thinks about the motives and events that led to my being here, it’s good to feel supported in what you’re doing. Very few of the people that I have fought alongside of in Iraq or Afghanistan chose to come here for personal reasons. Most came because it was what was asked of them by their country or their state and their president. All of us can’t wait to be home, to be with the people we love, sharing in those “mundane” day-to-day activities that make life worth living and cherishing. It’s an honor to be able to represent you and the society you are actively building through our younger citizens, both abroad and at home.

With Gratitude and Joy,

Kevin

I also found another organization dedicated to supporting our soldiers overseas. Check out Any Soldier Inc. to help brighten someone’s day.

It’s always great when we can give something back to our soldiers. In an earlier post, I mentioned the organization Books for Soldiers, a site that ships donated care packages containing books, movies, and games around the world. Today I found another website that sends care packages to soldiers. OPERATION: Take a Soldier to the Movies focuses on sending donated packages containing new and used DVDS, movie style candy (excluding chocolate), popcorn, powered drinks mixes, and other fun movie fare.

Care packages such as these can help pass time during those long intervals of waiting that so many soldiers are subject to. It also helps let them know that people out there care. I encourage you to check out these websites.