PALM HARBOR
Army Maj. Charles Ziegenfuss was not concerned that every time he tried tohit a golf ball Friday morning at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, ittrickled in a different direction. Ziegenfuss, of Indiana, Pa., was gladjust to be able to grip the club. "They asked me what my handicap was,"Ziegenfuss, 36, said with a laugh. "I have nine fingers."
In 2005, the 15-year soldier was a few feet away from an improvisedexplosive device when it exploded. When he came to, Ziegenfuss did not haveuse of his hands.
In three years he has undergone 35 surgeries. One was to reconstruct hisright thumb from skin drafted from his thigh. He lost his left pinkie andhas no feeling in his left hand.
It's people like Ziegenfuss that NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris and PennState teammate Lydell Mitchell were trying to help Friday during their 12thcharity golf tournament.
The Franco Harris/Lydell Mitchell Gridiron Golf Tournament, featuring 120golfers (including about 30 former NFL players), benefits Soldiers' Angels,an organization that supports American troops overseas by writing lettersand sending care packages.
Ziegenfuss starting getting help from Soldiers' Angels at Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center when he received a call from founder Patti Patton-Bader.
"She asked me what I wanted," Ziegenfuss said. "I said a laptop so that Icould communicate with my troops. It didn't dawn on me that I couldn't usemy hands."
To assist Ziegenfuss, Soldiers' Angels purchased software that allows usersto completely control a computer with their voice. Ziegenfuss said Soldiers'Angels have provided more than 3,000 laptops with the software for soldiers.
"It's nice to be in a position to be able to have a positive effect onpeople's lives," said Harris, who won four Super Bowls with the PittsburghSteelers and rushed for 12,120 yards in 13 seasons.
When he played for the Baltimore Colts, Mitchell rushed for 1,000 yards inthree consecutive seasons. Named to three Pro Bowls, he led the NFL in passreceptions in 1974 and 1977.
"We try to get involved in the community," Mitchell said. "To give back andto help a person is a wonderful feeling. We can't cure the world but we cancertainly give back and try."
Between $40,000 and $80,000 is usually given to the selected charity, saidLuana Harris-Scott, the tournament's event coordinator and fundraiser, notto mention Harris' sister.
Funds are usually given to a children's hospital but Harris-Scott said itwas decided to change the focus this year.
"Sometimes we forget about the people in our own back yards," Harris-Scottsaid. "The soldiers put their lives on the line for us every day and wewanted to do something in return for them to show our appreciation."
Soldiers' Angels became a formal organization in 2004 after one ofPatton-Bader's deployed sons said soldiers were not getting mail.
Now the organization sends 10,000 care packages to soldiers a week and25,000 letters a month. They have adopted 300,000 soldiers and donated25,000 laptop computers.
Ziegenfuss initially came across the organization because he was looking forways to get mail for soldiers in the company he commanded.
But after his injury, Soldiers' Angels came to his aid.
"Getting the computer helped me start my recovery," he said. "It showed methat I can live my life with these injuries."
Still on active duty, Ziegenfuss visits injured soldiers regularly.
"When I walk in the room, I tell them, 'Your life hasn't changed. I'm nothere to visit a wounded guy, but to visit a solider,' " he said.
*Demorris A. Lee can be reached at 445-4174 or dalee@sptimes.com.*
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