Ahmad Reshad Mushfiq was serving as an interpreter for U.S. troops in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb struck, costing him his legs and killing Jonathan Yelner, a U.S. senior airman. “When I think of the explosion, I don’t think of my legs. I just remember I lost my friend Jonathan Yelner,” Mushfiq told Chris De Benedetti of The Argus. “He left all his comforts in America to help the Afghan people, to make a difference. I can’t forget it.”
Now people in America want to help the 32-year-old Mushfiq. Mushfiq and his wife hid from the Taliban for three years while waiting for immigrant visas, and finally arrived in Fremont, Calif. The Sentinels of Freedom, a San Ramon, Calif.-based organization that helps veterans, has reached out to help Mushfiq begin his new life. He’s the first foreign civilian they’ve worked with, paying the rent on his family’s apartment, furnishing it, and helping him enroll in Ohlone College. Mushfiq also contacted Yelner’s mother, Yolanda Vega, a woman he now calls Mom.
Afghan coalition Executive Director Rona Popal told De Benedetti, “There are a lot of young Afghans working with U.S. forces, and they know they’ll be the first targets when the Taliban comes. That’s why we believe that, after 2014, a lot of Afghans will be coming here.” And many believe that these newcomers, who have served our country at such a personal price, deserve some of the same help that returning veterans do.
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Tag: Afghanistan
How Going to the Movies Can Help Veterans
In 2005, Danny Dietz and three other Navy SEALs went on a mission to locate Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in the mountains near Asadabad, Afghanistan. It ended in tragedy. Caught in a firefight and radioing for help, Dietz and two others were killed. When a helicopter carrying eight more Navy SEALs and eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators attempted a rescue, it was shot down by a Taliban rocket. Dietz was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery during the brutal battle.
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A new movie, “Lone Survivor,” is based on the story of Marcus Luttrell, the only Navy SEAL to survive the battle that killed Dietz. The backers of the movie have partnered with veterans organizations to form the Lone Survivor Fund, encouraging moviegoers to donate. When movie fans purchase their tickets on Fandango, they will be invited to contribute to the fund. The donations collected will be distributed to the Navy SEAL Foundation, Got Your 6, and the Lone Survivor Foundation, a non-profit started by Luttrell that offers education and rehabilitation services to returning vets. Actors in the movie, including Mark Wahlberg, who portrays Luttrell, and Emile Hirsch, who plays Dietz, are spreading the word about the Lone Survivor Fund as they promote the film. Now that’s a better way to spend your change than on a bucket of popcorn.
Bravery After Battle: How This Navy SEAL Uses His War Wounds to Help Fellow Soldiers
A year after he was ambushed by machine-gun fire in Fallujah, Iraq, Lt. Jason Redman was still missing his nose. The bullets that showered his body also hit his cheekbone, leaving the right side of his face caved in. And he was wearing an eye patch to conceal a crusty and mangled sight. Returning to his life in Virginia, Redman says it was as if he had become a target all over again — this time to questions and stares from strangers.
The questions themselves — were you in a car accident? a motorcycle crash? — didn’t bother Redman. The fact that no one ever asked whether he’d been hurt in combat did. “It really started to make me bitter,” Redman, 38, says. “We’d been at war in Iraq for six years at that point and I thought, ‘Wow does the average American that I fought for recognize the sacrifice that I’ve made and that others have made?’”
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Redman’s irritation began to fester, and after a particularly bothersome gawking session at the airport (“It’d been culminating, and I’d just reached my breaking point”), he took to the Internet to vent. Instead of angry Tweets or passive aggressive Facebook messages, Redman decided to wear his defense. He began designing T-shirts featuring slogans like, “Stop staring. I got shot by a machine gun. It would have killed you.” An American flag adorned the back of each one. As he started wearing his designs, strangers began to nod in appreciation, even thanking him at times. Redman knew he was onto something — that there were countless other wounded warriors who felt the same way.
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So in 2009 he created Wounded Wear, a nonprofit that donates clothing kits to warriors hurt in combat and their loved ones, as well as to the families of fallen soldiers. The kits contain jackets, workout gear and T-shirts that read “Scarred so that others may live free,” a toned-down version of the original slogans Redman used to print. His organization also accepts existing clothing from service members, which the nonprofit modifies to accommodate short-term rehabilitation needs or permanent bodily damage: One of the most requested alterations comes from amputees, whose prosthetic limbs make it difficult to put on regular pants. Wounded Wear provides everything to service members free of charge, raising money from donations as well as apparel sales on its website. So far, they’ve donated nearly 2,000 kits.
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