At the end of June, I had the distinct honor to visit our wounded soldiers recuperating at Walter Reed and Bethesda Military Hospitals. Accompanying me was Medal of Honor recipient George Lang who, like myself, is a Vietnam veteran and John Melia, Program Director for our Wounded Warrior Project. Also along was John Gallo, a friend of Mr. Lang’s, who is also a Vietnam veteran.
Our visits were a great success and I just hope that the young soldiers got as much out of them as we did. The attitude of the soldiers we saw was truly inspiring and overwhelming. It was obvious that these young troops don’t want to be pitied and are proud of the service they have rendered to their country. Truly, if these brave soldiers exemplify the caliber of our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, our country is in good hands. United Spinal Association will continue to visit them during their rehabilitation process and do all in its power to smooth the process of reintegration back into their home communities.
The evening before the visits to the hospitals, I also had the opportunity to take ten wounded warriors out to dinner so that they could get a taste of civilian life. The dinner seemed to go very well, as conversation flowed freely between us older vets and our youthful guests.
I would like to publicly thank member George Lang for taking time out of his personal schedule to make the trip to the Washington, DC area and be a part of our visiting team. George’s friendly and easy manner helped to establish a rapport with the young troops right off the bat and contributed greatly to the success of our visits.
It was clear from the visits to both Walter Reed and Bethesda that our Wounded Warrior Project is working well and helping to ease the circumstances of our returning soldiers with disabilities. Upon entering the hospital, these men and women receive a Wounded Warrior Project backpack containing daily care items. Most importantly, they come face to face with people who care about their plight and can provide meaningful assistance in getting their lives back together because they are supported by an organization called United Spinal Association.
Our country is blessed to have such strong and patriotic young people fighting for us. And, in keeping with our 57-year history, we will continue to support our troops and to assist our returning soldiers with disabilities.
Until next month, please keep your annual appointments and semper fi!
Peter Addesso
President
