While serving in Iraq in 2004, the truck Dan Nevins rode in was hit with an I.E.D., ejecting him from the vehicle. The explosion was so destructive that it severed both of Nevins’s legs below the knee, cut his femoral artery, and killed a fellow soldier. Lying on the ground, Nevins felt like he was losing all the blood in his body and was certain that he was going to die. Fortunately, doctors saved his life, but Nevins was unprepared for what would come next now that his body (and subsequently, his life) was altered radically.
During his recovery at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, Nevins underwent several surgeries each week for much of his 18-month-long stay. While there, representatives from The Wounded Warrior Project visited him, bringing a backpack full of items to show they cared, and letting him know about the dozens of programs the non-profit offers for people like Nevins.
Sponsoring more than a dozen programs,The Wounded Warrior Project centers their work around helping injured soldiers achieve economic empowerment, engagement, and healthy minds and bodies. They run adaptive sports for veterans, education and training for new jobs, restorative retreats, and more.
Nevins told Barbara Harrington of News Center 16 that the assistance provided by the Wounded Warrior Project has been indispensable to him. While recovering, “They were always there, making me take opportunities to prove that I could be the person I was before, if not better.”
Nevins, who now works for the Wounded Warrior Project raising awareness about their mission, recently visited the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. His visit inspired some MBA students to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Regarding the organization, Nevins said, “The greatest casualty is being forgotten. A lot of people that don’t raise their hand and say, that I’m dealing with this,’ feel forgotten. And that’s a travesty. We’re here to say, don’t be that person.”
MORE: This Paralyzed Vet Can Hunt and Fish Again, Thanks to the Generosity of His Community
Tag: wounded veterans
Which Celebrity Treats Wounded Vets to a Trip to Disneyland?
Two decades ago, the experience of portraying injured Vietnam vet Lieutenant Dan Taylor in the award-winning film Forrest Gump had a life-changing impact on actor Gary Sinise. And ever since, serving wounded veterans has been an important part of his life.
To help them, he started his own charity, the Gary Sinise Foundation. In February, he gave a group of 50 injured veterans the vacation of a lifetime — taking them on an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland and Hollywood. While at the amusement park, a Disney guide made sure that the veterans (who hailed from Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland; Virginia’s Fort Belvoir; and San Diego’s Naval Medical Center) could enjoy the rides without having to wait in any of those winding, endless lines.
Jody Nelson, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, participated in the trip. Now suffering from stage-four cancer of the lung, liver and brain, he brought his wife, Trinity — also an injured veteran — and his two-year-old son. He told ABC News, “They provided an experience that’s just unbelievable. Doctors told me I might live this many years or that many years, but I’m just going to fight it every day and every day that I’m able to spend time with my son is a miracle.”
The next day, Sinise brought the group to Paramount, where they had the special opportunity to meet Mykelti Williamson, who played Bubba in Forrest Gump, and one of the biggest movie stars in the world: Tom Hanks. “The whole purpose is to send them home smiling,” Sinise told ABC News. “They should know that they’re appreciated and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
This Documentarian Is Filming Incredible Vets — and Helping Them at the Same Time
Ski fans have been enjoying movies by the pioneering snow sport documentarian Warren Miller for decades. Now Miller’s son Kurt, of Niwot, Colo., is filming sports-themed documentaries with a new purpose: to show injured veterans and other people with disabilities participating in adaptive sports. Kurt Miller’s non-profit, Make A Hero, has a Wounded Military Fighter’s Fund that’s currently raising donations to buy a service dog for former Army Corporal Jesse Murphree of Westminster, Colo., who underwent 58 surgeries and lost his both legs after an injury in Afghanistan in 2007.
They’ve raised about $3,500 toward the goal of $6,000 to pay for Jasper, a 2-year-old German shepherd the trainer has already given Murphree on credit. Murphree told Whitney Bryen of the Longmont Times-Call, “I have a partner. It’s the same idea as having a battle buddy in the field watching your back.”
In exchange for providing Murphree with Jasper, the folks at Make A Hero made one request of him: to star in their new film, the water-sports themed The Current. “I’m not really a water guy,” Murphree told Bryen, “but when they asked if I wanted a free trip to Mexico, I figured why not.” In the film, Murphree learns how to scuba dive. Off-screen, he proposed to his girlfriend while in Mexico. The film debuted at the Boulder International Film Festival on Sunday, with the aim to raise the additional donations needed to pay for Jasper. We have a good feeling that they’ll meet their goal.
MORE: These Sisters Created An Incredible Place to Help Veterans
One Glimpse of a Wounded Vet Changed This Racehorse Owner’s Outlook on Life
One day when South Carolina pharmaceutical company owner George “Chip” McEwan was flying from Las Vegas to his home in Fort Meyers, Fla., a flight attendant asked the passengers to remain seated to let a wounded veteran leave the plane. McEwan told David Grening of Daily Racing Form that he expected to see an elderly veteran, but instead it was a man in his twenties, walking with the help of his father, accompanied by his wife and two small kids. “I said to my fiancée, who was crying, we need to do something for people like that,” McEwen told Grening. “Their entire circle is affected forever. Prior to that, I was one of those people, I’d buy a $2 bracelet, buy a T-shirt or a bumper sticker and call myself a proud supporter of wounded war veterans.” McEwan realized he could do more to help, so he changed the mission of the stable of racehorses he owns.
McEwan changed his stable’s name from McEwan Racing to Wounded Warrior Stables, and McEwan donates ten percent of the winnings from his racehorses to charities serving wounded or disabled veterans, including the service-dog providing Retrieving Freedom and Task Force Dagger Foundation, which helps families who’ve lost a member at war.
McEwan’s horses wear yellow silks with a purple heart on the chest, meant to evoke the Purple Heart medal that wounded veterans receive, and although his most promising horse, Uncle Sigh, has a long way to go to become a Kentucky Derby contender, it’s a safe bet that the good McEwan’s doing for wounded veterans will result in a lot more racing fans cheering him on.
MORE: What This Woman Does for Fallen Soldiers Will Warm Your Heart
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.
MORE: Bravery After Battle: How This Navy SEAL Uses His War Wounds to Help Fellow Soldiers
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.
This Injured Veteran Healed Himself. Now He’s Bringing His Secret to Others
When Ted Schlueter returned home to his family farm in Deerfield, Wisc. after sustaining a serious head injury in the Vietnam War, he struggled to make a new life for himself. What he eventually found was that training horses helped him heal his mental and physical wounds, and through techniques he learned at a 1989 Natural Horsemanship seminar in Chicago, he became an expert humane trainer, forgoing the use of whips, bits or similar tools. Along with his business partner Paulette Stelpflug, he established Freedom Stables, where he’s rehabilitated dozens of horses. Now he’s helping disabled veterans, too. AT EASE, A Therapeutic Equine Assisted Self-confidence Experience benefits soldiers suffering from head injuries or PTSD by teaching them how to interact with horses and giving them a safe space to recover. “We help families mend their relationships after people return from duty,” Schlueter told Dori Dahl of The Cambridge News and Deerfield Independent. “The horses help provide a common ground to begin again.”
MORE: How This Navy SEAL Uses His War Wounds to Help Other Soldiers
A Collaboration to Provide Good Reads to Troops
Press 53, an award-winning small publisher of literary fiction and poetry based in North Carolina, is teaming up with AnySoldier.com to provide good reads to troops. Whenever a book lover buys a book through Press 53’s website between Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, Press 53 will send the customer their order and also send a book to an active-duty soldier or a wounded veteran. Sergeant Brian Horn began AnySoldier.com in 2003 when he was stationed in Iraq as a way to distribute care packages to soldiers who don’t get much mail. Press 53 has been sending books to soldiers in the Middle East since 2007, and two years ago began also sending books to the Veterans Writing Project in Washington D.C., which gives the books to soldiers recovering at the Walter Reed Hospital and other rehabilitation centers. Their program is a good way for anyone who loves reading to share that enthusiasm with a soldier.
Sources: Press 53 / AnySoldier.Com