Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Texas Fallen Hero - Mesquite TX
Sgt. 1st Class Raymond J. Munden, 35, of Mesquite, Texas, died Feb. 16 at Forward Operating Base Tillman in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using indirect fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Raymond Munden never talked about being a doctor or a lawyer. All he ever wanted to do was join the Army.
Over 17 years, he completed five tours of duty overseas, including two in Iraq. On Monday, three weeks shy of completing his sixth stint – his second in Afghanistan – Sgt. 1st Class Munden was killed in a grenade attack in a remote outpost near the Pakistani border.
The 35-year-old soldier leaves behind a wife and four children, the youngest 2 years old, and a record of commitment to the job he loved.
He is the second Dallas-area soldier from the Band of Brothers unit – the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division – to be killed in that corner of Afghanistan in six days.
Munden was at Forward Operating Base Tillman, about two miles from the Pakistani border, when a sniper launched an RPG, or rocket-propelled grenade, said his stepfather, Dwaine Clark of Mesquite.
His stepson was off duty and walking back to his barracks when the grenade landed about 10 feet behind him. "He was very alert, very cautious," Clark said, "but no one was expecting that."
Munden's mother, Billie Clark, has been struggling with the news, her husband said. "She can't sleep, but she's so dead-tired she can barely stay awake," he said. "We're Christians, and she knows he had a salvation experience when he was 14, so she has that to fall back on. But this world will never be the same for her," he said. Munden and his mom moved to Mesquite when his parents divorced, Dwaine Clark said.
"She always said Raymond was her protector, even though he was only 13, because it was just the two of them then," his stepfather said.
Munden graduated in 1991 from Mesquite High School, where he played football. His coach, Mickey DeLamar, said Munden didn't start for the Skeeters but played quite a bit and practiced hard.
"He was one of those kids who just loved the game, and he took a lot of pride in practice. He played a lot on the scout team," DeLamar said. "When you think about it, those kids were the reason we were successful – they did such a great job simulating what we'd see on Friday night. "He had a great attitude."
But even in high school, he was set on joining the Army. His father, Ralph Munden of Richland, Mo., made a career of the Army.
"He was a gung-ho soldier," his father-in-law, Henry J. Koshofer of Lancaster, N.Y., told the Buffalo News. "He loved it. The loves of his life were his children and wife and the Army."
In 2002, People magazine wrote about Munden, then in his first tour in Afghanistan, and his family back home. He was overseas when his older daughter, Sydney, was born back in the states, half a world away, and he remembered speaking his first words to her over a video hookup. Munden and his wife, Kelly, later had another daughter, Kailey, now 2. He also has two sons from a previous marriage, Gaven, 13, and Garrett, 12.
After his overseas deployments, including tours in Somalia and Haiti, and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Munden was eager for his upcoming stateside assignment at West Point, Koshofer said.
"He was coming home in three more weeks, which makes it all the worse for us," Dwaine Clark said. "He was going to West Point to help train the cadets in urban combat, the house-to-house fighting. "We had started breathing a little bit easier because it was so close to being over with."
Munden's body was returned to the U.S. on Thursday, with services pending. Services will be in Buffalo, where his wife is from.
"But because he has a lot of friends in Mesquite, we'll have a memorial here sometime," Dwaine Clark said. "We just don't know when."
Sunday, February 22, 2009
South Texas Soldier Loses Life in Iraq
Local family loses son to Iraq war
By Heather Menzies
Bay City Tribune
Published February 11, 2009
A Matagorda family lost their son, Sgt. Joshua Ward, as a casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom Monday, Feb. 9.
According to a news release from the Multi-National Corps - Iraq, Joshua was one of four U.S. Coalition Soldiers killed when a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive devise detonated near their vehicle in Mosul, Iraq.
He is survived by his parents John and Patti Ward, sister Brandi Ward and brother Johnny Ward, all residents of Matagorda, and older brothers Ben and Eric, of the Houston area.
Joshua also leaves behind his two sons Joshua Allen Ward Jr., 9, Zane Tyler Ward, 7, and their mother Misty Ward of Scottsville, Ky.
Other survivors are his girlfriend Diana Gunderson and a third son who is expected in July residents of Fort Hood.
The family suffered the loss of his maternal grandmother Margaret Lyles of Matagorda just four months ago.
Joshua, a member of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment Mosul, Iraq based in Fort Hood, was serving the beginning of his third deployment to Iraq that was scheduled to last for 16 months when he became the victim of a suicide bomber.
A nine-year Army veteran, he was serving his second term and due to get out of the military for good in September.
"When 9-11 happened, I remember him telling his mother that he wanted to make his boys proud and he just needed to (enlist)," said Brandi.
Patti was visiting a family member Monday morning in Needville when she received word from the Army that Joshua had been killed.
"At first she just couldn't believe it," said Tammy Smith, Joshua's aunt.
"We made several calls to make sure the news had come from a reliable source."
According to Brandi, Joshua was "such a family man."
"He loved his brothers in the Army - they were like another family for him," she said.
Joshua's father John was working as an operations supervisor for KBR in Afghanistan when he received the unwelcome news.
He is expected to arrive in Texas today.
Joshua was a 1997 graduate of Needville High School where he was a star football player - even recruited to play in the Way Down Under Bowl in Australia.
As a teenager he spent free time as a rodeo clown bullfighter.
When asked what one thing that the family would like for people to most remember about Joshua, his heroic sacrifice was the answer.
"My son gave his life for his country, he is a hero and will always be a hero," said Patti.
"The family is very proud of him and we want everyone in America to be proud of him - he did not die in vain," said Brandi.
By Heather Menzies
Bay City Tribune
Published February 11, 2009
A Matagorda family lost their son, Sgt. Joshua Ward, as a casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom Monday, Feb. 9.
According to a news release from the Multi-National Corps - Iraq, Joshua was one of four U.S. Coalition Soldiers killed when a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive devise detonated near their vehicle in Mosul, Iraq.
He is survived by his parents John and Patti Ward, sister Brandi Ward and brother Johnny Ward, all residents of Matagorda, and older brothers Ben and Eric, of the Houston area.
Joshua also leaves behind his two sons Joshua Allen Ward Jr., 9, Zane Tyler Ward, 7, and their mother Misty Ward of Scottsville, Ky.
Other survivors are his girlfriend Diana Gunderson and a third son who is expected in July residents of Fort Hood.
The family suffered the loss of his maternal grandmother Margaret Lyles of Matagorda just four months ago.
Joshua, a member of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment Mosul, Iraq based in Fort Hood, was serving the beginning of his third deployment to Iraq that was scheduled to last for 16 months when he became the victim of a suicide bomber.
A nine-year Army veteran, he was serving his second term and due to get out of the military for good in September.
"When 9-11 happened, I remember him telling his mother that he wanted to make his boys proud and he just needed to (enlist)," said Brandi.
Patti was visiting a family member Monday morning in Needville when she received word from the Army that Joshua had been killed.
"At first she just couldn't believe it," said Tammy Smith, Joshua's aunt.
"We made several calls to make sure the news had come from a reliable source."
According to Brandi, Joshua was "such a family man."
"He loved his brothers in the Army - they were like another family for him," she said.
Joshua's father John was working as an operations supervisor for KBR in Afghanistan when he received the unwelcome news.
He is expected to arrive in Texas today.
Joshua was a 1997 graduate of Needville High School where he was a star football player - even recruited to play in the Way Down Under Bowl in Australia.
As a teenager he spent free time as a rodeo clown bullfighter.
When asked what one thing that the family would like for people to most remember about Joshua, his heroic sacrifice was the answer.
"My son gave his life for his country, he is a hero and will always be a hero," said Patti.
"The family is very proud of him and we want everyone in America to be proud of him - he did not die in vain," said Brandi.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Texas Fallen Hero - Frisco, Texas
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Feb. 10 in Salerno, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. The soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Killed were:
Spc. Peter J. Courcy, 22, of Frisco, Texas.
Pfc. Jason R. Watson, 19, of Many, La.
On the ice hockey rink and wrestling mat, Peter John Courcy battled for Frisco High School with power and authority.
He joined the fight last year on the sands and in the mountains of Afghanistan, living a lifelong dream of military service. Now his family, friends and respectful strangers are mourning his death – weeks before his scheduled return to North Texas and his parents, wife and infant son.
U.S. Army Spc. Courcy, 22, and a fellow soldier died Tuesday when a car packed with explosives plowed into their convoy-leading Humvee near the American base at Salerno.
"I lost a piece of my soul that day," his squad leader, Sgt. Bruce Hunter, said Friday, recalling the midmorning attack and remembering a friend who always wanted to man the lead .50-caliber machine gun on patrols. "He knew the dangers. He knew the risks. But he did it every day," said Sgt. Hunter, whose mother and grandparents live in the Collin County city of Princeton.
Born at Fort Hood in Central Texas, Peter Courcy "always wanted to be in the military," said his father, Chris Bush of Frisco. In a 2003 interview with The Dallas Morning News, he talked of two role models: his grandfather, Ernest Courcy, a Vietnam War veteran, now retired in Coppell, and his uncle Daniel Colasanto, a Garland police officer, who served in the Persian Gulf War.
Team Leadership was his favorite class. "We're going to elementary schools and helping little kids and being role models for them," he said. And he talked of applying to West Point.
At Fort Hood, where he lived with his mother and role-model grandfather, young Peter began playing roller hockey. After moving to Frisco in the eighth grade, he took up ice hockey and wrestling, excelling in both sports in high school.
"He was an exceptional kid, very mature for his age," said hockey coach John Bullis, recalling his second-leading scorer and assistant captain. "He was quiet, but he garnered respect. He was the glue for the hockey team."
In the halls of Frisco High School, he showed a strength of spirit, said former principal Rick Burnett.
"He had a smile on his face every day. You could tell things were good with him," Mr. Burnett said. "He had a presence."
After high school, he played amateur hockey for the Dallas Ice Hawks before enlisting in the Army in 2006.
The next year, Spc. Courcy joined his 101st Airborne Division unit at Fort Campbell, Ky., and arrived in Afghanistan last March with the 4th Platoon, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment.
There he built bonds as a leader who brought a sense of stability and ease.
"He was one of the goofiest guys I ever met," said Sgt. Hunter, recalling the "stupid movie quotes" that would flow from his friend's mouth and how the sound of his telephone, with its disco ringtone, would get the unit dancing.
Spc. Courcy was also a calming influence, Rafal Gerszak, a photojournalist from Toronto embedded with his platoon, said Friday.
"He never got angry at anybody, always had a smile on his face, and cheered everybody else up during the hard times," he wrote in an e-mail. "He was very excited to go back home in a few weeks and spend time with his baby and wife."
Spc. Courcy got to spend time with his wife, Mara, and newborn son, Anthony, while home on leave in September.
In camp, he talked often of his son, Sgt. Hunter said, and planned to make sure he was a Dallas Cowboys nut like his father.
The proud father was due to end his one-year Afghanistan tour next month. He had signed on for another five years of service, hoping to join the Special Forces.
Now his family awaits the return of his body – and word from the military on when that will be.
In time, they plan to have a memorial service at St. Ann Catholic Church in Coppell with burial at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, his father said.
"We'd love to have a lot of people come out when he comes home," he said. "Pete deserves that."
He is survived by his wife, Mara; his 5-month-old son, Anthony Luke; his mother and step-father, Mary and Christopher Bush, of Frisco, his infant brother Luke, and his father, Jon Mitchell. The most current address for his Dad is over a year old.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Welcome The Troops at DFW
The February, Welcome Home Troops for angels will be on February 22, 2009. Please come and join us for this fun event and say thank you to our Soldiers’ as they return home for R & R.
This is a fun event for everyone involved. Sandra Kimble is the angel in charge of the Welcome Home the Troops for DFW. If you would like to be put on the mailing list to get updates about the times and dates for the monthly event, please contact Sandra at slkssss@msn.com.
Hope to see you at DFW on the 22nd!!!
This is a fun event for everyone involved. Sandra Kimble is the angel in charge of the Welcome Home the Troops for DFW. If you would like to be put on the mailing list to get updates about the times and dates for the monthly event, please contact Sandra at slkssss@msn.com.
Hope to see you at DFW on the 22nd!!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Valour-IT grant awarded to Soldiers' Angels
For the second time in three years, Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT has received a grant from the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) through SAAF's Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD).
The grant of $210,000 is expected to purchase at least 300 laptops, which will be distributed to wounded veterans at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) or living in the surrounding area. The computers will be used for communication, post-military employment preparation and physical and occupational therapy, and will be fitted with adaptive technology from the Department of Defense for severely injured users, including voice-control. As one of the largest treatment facilities for wounded veterans in America, BAMC is a major hub for Project Valour-IT and Soldiers' Angels works closely with caseworkers there to identify recovering service members in need of a laptop.
Wounded veteran and Valour-IT co-creator Chuck Ziegenfuss knows firsthand the power of Valour-IT. He reported that using a voice-controlled laptop while he recovered was "the first time I felt whole since I'd woken up wounded."
This is the third SAAF/TRIAD grant for Soldiers' Angels, forming a growing bond and furthering the reach of Project Valour-IT, which has already distributed 3,000 laptops nationwide. "With the money from this grant we will be able to touch many more heroes who need Valour-IT Laptops," said Veterans Support team leader, Twyla Choate. "Soldiers' Angels is thrilled to once again be given the opportunity to help those who have done so much for us."
In 2007, Valour-IT received a $150,000 grant from TRIAD. Soldiers' Angels proudly salutes the work of official volunteer grant writer Cheryl Walker, who wrote both of the TRIAD grant applications for Valour-IT.
The grant of $210,000 is expected to purchase at least 300 laptops, which will be distributed to wounded veterans at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) or living in the surrounding area. The computers will be used for communication, post-military employment preparation and physical and occupational therapy, and will be fitted with adaptive technology from the Department of Defense for severely injured users, including voice-control. As one of the largest treatment facilities for wounded veterans in America, BAMC is a major hub for Project Valour-IT and Soldiers' Angels works closely with caseworkers there to identify recovering service members in need of a laptop.
Wounded veteran and Valour-IT co-creator Chuck Ziegenfuss knows firsthand the power of Valour-IT. He reported that using a voice-controlled laptop while he recovered was "the first time I felt whole since I'd woken up wounded."
This is the third SAAF/TRIAD grant for Soldiers' Angels, forming a growing bond and furthering the reach of Project Valour-IT, which has already distributed 3,000 laptops nationwide. "With the money from this grant we will be able to touch many more heroes who need Valour-IT Laptops," said Veterans Support team leader, Twyla Choate. "Soldiers' Angels is thrilled to once again be given the opportunity to help those who have done so much for us."
In 2007, Valour-IT received a $150,000 grant from TRIAD. Soldiers' Angels proudly salutes the work of official volunteer grant writer Cheryl Walker, who wrote both of the TRIAD grant applications for Valour-IT.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Phone Calls Can Be Good or Bad (A Texas Mother's Story)
There are several things in life that make us proud. Meeting the person of our dreams, getting married, having children, and accomplishing those things in life that our parents wished for us. When it comes to our children, we want the best for them, hoping and praying that one day they will heed our advice and become productive adults and accomplish all those things that we could not.
When my son Zackary entered his senior year of high school, I got the shock of my life. It was always our hope and dream that he would continue his football career in college. We had it all planned out for him, where he would go and who he would play for. He had his profession picked out and the college of choice was perfect for him. That was the case until we got “the phone call”.
Zackary was finishing up football practice when he called and said that an Army recruiter was coming by the house in 45 minutes to sign papers. He was joining the Army. “What”? “Who’s joining the Army”? “Sign where”? “He’s leaving when”? All the emotions I could think of were flooding into me. They said sign here and this is going to happen, meanwhile I am sitting there in a fog. They could have told me that along with giving away my first born I also had to give them a million dollars and I was agreeing with it!
Zackary was now in the Army. My boy was going to go away and fight for his country. We expected military service, but hoped that it would be after college and that it was going to be the Air Force; following in his fathers and grand-fathers footsteps. And before I knew it football season was over (that year they went to state, lost, but it was something the school will never forget) and graduation day. Graduation day, my firstborn was a high school graduate; and before I would know it moved out of the house and becoming a productive adult.
But before I knew it I was saying goodbye. Off to boot camp he would go. I wrote everyday. I even sent cookies, enough for him and his unit, only to find out they were put in a refrigerator because they were not allowed to have them (that was the recruiters fault because I asked before I sent). He had one goof when there was not allowed to share in graduation, but instead stand in the back of the hall. But that did not stop me from attending. Sitting there as a proud parent should watching all the other cadets take their stand.
When he returned to his base another phone call rocked my world. “Mom I am going to Iraq I leave sometime in the next month”. My world was about to fall apart. Zackary had taken the trade of Bomb Disposal and Demolition. Well, you would think that with something like that the only place he could go was a war zone. I didn’t want it to happen. But this was not the Civil War and a hundred pieces of gold was not going to get him out. He was an adult. He made his choice and loving it. What else could I do? I sucked up the courage to tell him to be safe and be good, to remember that he is not the savior of the world and not to do anything dangerous.
Well a mother can wish, can’t she? I tried as much as I could to not watch the news and read the papers. I didn’t want to hear about what was going on in Iraq. I was even afraid to go home because I was worried that there would be someone there waiting for me. I was thankful when I would see his name pop up on Yahoo and I could talk to him, and there was those few phone calls that he made. Each conversation ending, “I love you be good and be safe”.
Then another phone call. “I am coming back to the states”! Praise Be! Zackary is coming home!! I could not wait! I called everyone. Told them to hold the letters and care packages because he is coming home!!
Zackary made it back to the states just after Christmas. I had been so sick in the months of November and December, but on the day that I felt better he called and said that he was back on base and we were going to be able to pick him up for a 12 day leave. Once again the emotions were high and the anxiety level was uncontrollable.
I was to pick up Zackary on Saturday, when yet there was a phone call. Zackary said that there was going to be a Redeployment Ceremony the day before. As I joined all the proud parents in the stands, it felt like high school graduation day all over again. I noticed that the row in front of me had been reserved. It took awhile to find out who it was for, but when I did I couldn’t help but shed a tear. It was for the family of wounded soldiers. Those families that lost loved ones had the honor of going to each of the units and unfolding their company flags. There were a few of the wounded at the ceremony. One in particular had lost both of his legs and come to find out was in Zackary’s unit. At the unveiling of the flags, he was the one that unveiled the company flag. Yet another tear was shed.
Needless to say, I cried thru most of the ceremony. To watch all those boys and girls, all standing in attention, knowing that they are giving their lives to protect our country. I couldn’t help but feel for those who weren’t there. For those whose families could not make the trip, for one reason or another. I was proud of each and every one of them, as if they were my own child. I sat thru all of the speeches, with each saying how proud they were and thanking them for their service and welcoming them home, and thankful they were all short and to the point.
As I got on the bus and headed back to my car, we passed the troops. I saw most of them and saw the experience on their faces. Wishing that they did not have to go thru what they did, but knowing that what they gained from it with be with them forever.
I went back to my motel room purely exhausted. In that short hour I endured every emotion you can have. Thanking each parent for their child, knowing that next year these saviors’ were going to head off again either to Iraq or Afghanistan.
To the members of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 10th Mountain Division stationed out of Fort Polk, Louisiana I wish to thank you and welcome home. I had the pleasure of being able to write to some of you and hope that in the future I can write many more. Thank you for your time and your service. Thank you for protecting our country and being at the service of others. To the parents of these soldiers, I again say thank you for teaching your son/daughter courage and honor.
Chris Hartley, Littlefield, TX
Mother to
PFC Zackary Hauff - Fort Polk, LA
Chris has been married for 9 1/2 years. Her husband Terry along with his father and brother all served in the Air Force. Chris was chatting with an online buddy she met through an online game site. She had been part of Soldiers Angels and said that it would be great for Chris since I was looking to do more to help out. I started with letter writing. I loved sending the birthday cards and the welcome baby cards. That got me to do more. Now I have an adopted soldier and want more. When my son was in Iraq, I adopted three of his friends. I still have an adoptive son, PFC Russell Stoppel, in Iraq and enjoy sending him letters and care packages.
When my son Zackary entered his senior year of high school, I got the shock of my life. It was always our hope and dream that he would continue his football career in college. We had it all planned out for him, where he would go and who he would play for. He had his profession picked out and the college of choice was perfect for him. That was the case until we got “the phone call”.
Zackary was finishing up football practice when he called and said that an Army recruiter was coming by the house in 45 minutes to sign papers. He was joining the Army. “What”? “Who’s joining the Army”? “Sign where”? “He’s leaving when”? All the emotions I could think of were flooding into me. They said sign here and this is going to happen, meanwhile I am sitting there in a fog. They could have told me that along with giving away my first born I also had to give them a million dollars and I was agreeing with it!
Zackary was now in the Army. My boy was going to go away and fight for his country. We expected military service, but hoped that it would be after college and that it was going to be the Air Force; following in his fathers and grand-fathers footsteps. And before I knew it football season was over (that year they went to state, lost, but it was something the school will never forget) and graduation day. Graduation day, my firstborn was a high school graduate; and before I would know it moved out of the house and becoming a productive adult.
But before I knew it I was saying goodbye. Off to boot camp he would go. I wrote everyday. I even sent cookies, enough for him and his unit, only to find out they were put in a refrigerator because they were not allowed to have them (that was the recruiters fault because I asked before I sent). He had one goof when there was not allowed to share in graduation, but instead stand in the back of the hall. But that did not stop me from attending. Sitting there as a proud parent should watching all the other cadets take their stand.
When he returned to his base another phone call rocked my world. “Mom I am going to Iraq I leave sometime in the next month”. My world was about to fall apart. Zackary had taken the trade of Bomb Disposal and Demolition. Well, you would think that with something like that the only place he could go was a war zone. I didn’t want it to happen. But this was not the Civil War and a hundred pieces of gold was not going to get him out. He was an adult. He made his choice and loving it. What else could I do? I sucked up the courage to tell him to be safe and be good, to remember that he is not the savior of the world and not to do anything dangerous.
Well a mother can wish, can’t she? I tried as much as I could to not watch the news and read the papers. I didn’t want to hear about what was going on in Iraq. I was even afraid to go home because I was worried that there would be someone there waiting for me. I was thankful when I would see his name pop up on Yahoo and I could talk to him, and there was those few phone calls that he made. Each conversation ending, “I love you be good and be safe”.
Then another phone call. “I am coming back to the states”! Praise Be! Zackary is coming home!! I could not wait! I called everyone. Told them to hold the letters and care packages because he is coming home!!
Zackary made it back to the states just after Christmas. I had been so sick in the months of November and December, but on the day that I felt better he called and said that he was back on base and we were going to be able to pick him up for a 12 day leave. Once again the emotions were high and the anxiety level was uncontrollable.
I was to pick up Zackary on Saturday, when yet there was a phone call. Zackary said that there was going to be a Redeployment Ceremony the day before. As I joined all the proud parents in the stands, it felt like high school graduation day all over again. I noticed that the row in front of me had been reserved. It took awhile to find out who it was for, but when I did I couldn’t help but shed a tear. It was for the family of wounded soldiers. Those families that lost loved ones had the honor of going to each of the units and unfolding their company flags. There were a few of the wounded at the ceremony. One in particular had lost both of his legs and come to find out was in Zackary’s unit. At the unveiling of the flags, he was the one that unveiled the company flag. Yet another tear was shed.
Needless to say, I cried thru most of the ceremony. To watch all those boys and girls, all standing in attention, knowing that they are giving their lives to protect our country. I couldn’t help but feel for those who weren’t there. For those whose families could not make the trip, for one reason or another. I was proud of each and every one of them, as if they were my own child. I sat thru all of the speeches, with each saying how proud they were and thanking them for their service and welcoming them home, and thankful they were all short and to the point.
As I got on the bus and headed back to my car, we passed the troops. I saw most of them and saw the experience on their faces. Wishing that they did not have to go thru what they did, but knowing that what they gained from it with be with them forever.
I went back to my motel room purely exhausted. In that short hour I endured every emotion you can have. Thanking each parent for their child, knowing that next year these saviors’ were going to head off again either to Iraq or Afghanistan.
To the members of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 10th Mountain Division stationed out of Fort Polk, Louisiana I wish to thank you and welcome home. I had the pleasure of being able to write to some of you and hope that in the future I can write many more. Thank you for your time and your service. Thank you for protecting our country and being at the service of others. To the parents of these soldiers, I again say thank you for teaching your son/daughter courage and honor.
Chris Hartley, Littlefield, TX
Mother to
PFC Zackary Hauff - Fort Polk, LA
Chris has been married for 9 1/2 years. Her husband Terry along with his father and brother all served in the Air Force. Chris was chatting with an online buddy she met through an online game site. She had been part of Soldiers Angels and said that it would be great for Chris since I was looking to do more to help out. I started with letter writing. I loved sending the birthday cards and the welcome baby cards. That got me to do more. Now I have an adopted soldier and want more. When my son was in Iraq, I adopted three of his friends. I still have an adoptive son, PFC Russell Stoppel, in Iraq and enjoy sending him letters and care packages.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
*2009 Grid Iron Golf Tournament in Tampa Spotlights Soldiers' Angels*
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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