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“You Just Drive On”
December 13, 2007
I’ve written several times about various Wounded Warriors whom I feel are an inspiration. Their courage, bravery and determination to continue their military careers, in the face of the adversity they have due to their injuries. I can’t say enough good things about these men and women and the positive attitudes they have. Most, take their injuries in stride and do whatever they need to do, to overcome those injuries and to continue their careers in the military if possible. If unable to continue their military careers, they instead turn that drive and determination into a career in the civilian sector.
Army SSG William Corp is one of these brave and courageous Soldiers. He’s currently a patient at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas and doing his rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid, the state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility at Fort Sam Houston which was built solely with private donations. Recently, New York Post reporter Ralph Peters was at Center for the Intrepid watching SSG Corp work out with a boogie-board on the wave-rider in the center. That’s just one of the areas of rehabilitation that our wounded warriors work out on to help them regain their sense of balance. For SSG Corp, this is a necessity, it helps to rebuild muscles and helps those who’ve lost limbs, like SSG Corp, to regain their balance. It’s challenging yet one that they bravely confront.
SSG lost his right leg in a roadside bombing in Iraq and is one of the program’s success stories. According to Lt. Col. Jennifer Menetrez, MD, the director of the Center for the Intrepid, SSG Corp has come a long way since his arrival at BAMC in 2006. Recently, SSG Corp also competed in the Army 10 miler in Washington DC. Currently, he’s waiting on orders to return to his job as a military policeman. While he’s waiting, he volunteers his time to train the newly arriving amputees.
“You just drive on,” SSG Corp said. “What’s the next step? Hey, just drive on. Aw, I’m just an MP grunt.”
Another wounded warrior who is working hard to recover and return to work is SPC Joshua Wold. He already has a job lined up with the sheriff’s office in his home county of Lewis County, Washington. Once he returns home, he’ll reunite with his two daughters. Spc. Wold couldn’t say enough good things about the Center for the Intrepid.
“The medical facility here is top of the line,” he said.
Though the medical care at Brooke Army Medical Center and the Center for the Intrepid are top-notch, there are still things that need to be done. Currently donations are being sought to complete construction on a Warrior and Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston. These centers allow the families and Soldiers a place that is homey and comfortable and supportive, a place they can go as they work to reintegrate into society. As Mr. Peters said in his article, “They gave. Now we have to give.”
Mr. Peters has conducted several interviews with severely wounded Soldiers and Marines and he noticed something… not one of those that he interviewed complained about what they were experiencing. He said, they’re the bravest of the brave; not the demoralized losers that Hollywood wants to make them out to be. This is a great cause and one I would encourage anyone to donate to, if they wish to help make the difference in the lives of our wounded warriors.
Here’s how you can help make sure that the wounded warriors currently being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center can take advantage of the Warrior and Family Support Center being built at Brooke Army Medical Center. You can visit the Returning Heroes Home website, call 1-888-343-HERO or can mail a donation to:
Returning Heroes Home
P.O. Box 202194
Dallas, Texas 75320-2194
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