Ft. Campbell's Fisher House

Fallen soldier's dad raises $9,000 gift for Fisher House
Father of 1st Lt. Jeremy Wolfe raised donation through memorial motorcycle ride
By CHANTAL ESCOTO The Leaf-Chronicle

The Fort Campbell Fisher House recently accepted a $9,000 check from an aviation battalion in honor of one of its fallen soldiers.

Capt. Clint Underwood, left, presents Fort Campbell Fisher House manager Vivian Wilson a check for $9,000 from the 1st Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe Memorial Black Hawk Fund as Col. Ramona Fiorey looks on Friday afternoon. The money was raised at an annual motorcycle ride held in Menomonie, Wis., by Wolfe's father Butch.

The 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Aviation Brigade recently presented director Vivian Wilson with the donation in honor of 1st Lt. Jeremy Wolfe.

Wolfe and 16 other soldiers were killed in November 2003 when two Black Hawk helicopters collided over Mosul. His father, David "Butch" Wolfe, raised the money through an annual memorial motorcycle ride in his hometown of Menomoney, Wis.

Butch Wolfe said he didn't know about the Fisher House until he was told the lodging facility for families of injured soldiers needed money to stay open. "We never heard about the Fisher House, and so we wanted to give to that," he said. The memorial ride and auction included 135 motorcycles and 16 custom antique cars. After the event, a memorial service was held for Jeremy Wolfe and those who perished with him. Butch Wolfe said the support in his town is "wonderful," and he plans to hold the ride every year to raise money for the Fisher House.
"It helps us to know that people have not forgotten and do care," he said. "We live in a society today that's so fast-paced and we need to think about what the troops are doing for us."
Wilson said it was a "huge honor" to receive the donation from a family that has sacrificed so much.
"To take that grief and turn it into something good to help those soldiers and their families," she said.
Wilson said the outpouring of financial support is greatly appreciated but it can never be too much. It costs about $100,000 annually to operate the Fisher House, but it doesn't include personal items like toiletries, food and other essentials families need.

In addition to the money from the aviation battalion, the Fisher House recently received donations and or pledges from GM Hummer — $22,000; a golf tournament in Waco, Texas — $12,000; CH2M Hill — $10,000; Altrusa Charity Ball — $3,500; Fort Campbell Enlisted Spouses Club — $3,000; Tennessee State Society and U.S. Cavalry on Fort Campbell Boulevard — $1,500 each; VFW Auxiliary No. 233 and the Bon Aqua VFW Post No. 4641 — $200 monthly pledge each; the staff and students of Mahaffey Middle School — dinner and donations.

"The community as a whole has just come together to help those who serve," Wilson said.
Besides financial donations, other items the Fisher House could use are gift cards or gift certificates to area restaurants or general merchandise stores.

The Fisher House program was started more than 15 years ago by philanthropists Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher and is funded through and run by the Fisher family. The $1 million facility on Fort Campbell has eight rooms and is open at no charge to families of soldiers who are recovering from illness or injury at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.

Comforting Embrace

(Photo Courtesy of David W. Gilmore Jr./U.S. Air Force)

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad, Iraq, cradles a young girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girl’s entire family was executed by insurgents; the killers shot her in the head as well. The girl received treatment at the US military hospital in Balad, but cries and moans often. According to the nurses at the facility, Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he has spent the last several nights holding her while they both sleep in a chair.

Why isn’t this all over the news? If he’d done something wrong … then it would be!

Freedom Team competes in New York City Marathon

Freedom Team competes in New York City Marathon
By Sgt. Joseph Morris 361st PAOC



NEW YORK (Army News Service, Nov. 6, 2006) Approximately 70 recently disabled war heroes completed the 2006 New York City Marathon Sunday.

The athletes were part of the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded War Veterans, sponsored by the Achilles Track Club, a non-profit organization that gives disabled people the opportunity to compete in a variety of sporting events.

Sgt. Neil Duncan, a first-time marathon participant from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, finished in first place this year for the Freedom Team. “I wasn’t expecting to come in first,” said Duncan, who lost both his legs from an improvised explosive device last year while serving in Iraq. “But once I got in the lead, I just stuck with it.” Duncan said he got involved with Achilles while going through rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as part of an athletic program for disabled war veterans. Their rehabilitation is enhanced through physical activity, goal setting and personal achievement. “We try to catch them weeks after they have been wounded,” said Mary Bryant, vice president and director of the Freedom Team. “We want them to get active again and encourage them to keep moving. We’re here to complement what they’re doing at Walter Reed.”

The majority of the veterans are amputees who participate using specially designed hand-crank wheelchairs that are operated solely by competitors' upper body strength. “They’re actually very challenging to use,” said Bryant. “Some of them are donated and built by volunteers. We had a double amputee who had a five percent chance of living and when we gave him a hand-crank wheelchair, he became mobile and had life in him again,” she said. “Being a part of Freedom Team and being in this marathon has been an awesome experience,” said retired Cpl. Alex Leonard, who lost his right leg during a land mine explosion in Iraq last year. “I am fortunate that other people cared enough about me and kept me going like this. This was the second time I did this marathon, and I plan on doing it again.”

According to Bryant, every single member of Freedom Team finished the race, which becomes an empowering achievement for them. “You really need that extra push, that team spirit – physically, mentally, and emotionally,” she said. “There are people who didn’t think they could do this marathon when they had two legs. Now in their current situation, they want to do it. People call them heroes, but they simply say, ‘I was doing my job.’”

Welcome to The Veterans Blog

Before you start surfing The Veterans Blog I think it's only right that I introduce myself to you.

My name is Tony Bucaro and I am a 36 year old disabled US Army Infantry Veteran. I have spent from June 1989 to May 1997 in the Infantry with assignments in the following units:

A co. 6/502nd Inf. Berlin Brigade
HHC 1/187th Inf. “Rakkasans” 101st ABN
AMF (L) NATO Inf. Co. Mannheim Germany
C co. 1/24th Inf. 25th Inf. Div. “Tropical Lightning”

Although my Army career was cut short, my fight still continues not only for myself but to help fellow veterans like you. Wither you are disabled or not, you are entitled to many benefits just for being a veteran and having served your country. Most of you don’t know that you have these benefits which are yours by right. But, starting today it is my mission to help put out as much information as possible to help as many veterans as possible. So every veteran can become self-sufficient again and rely on no one.