thedrifter
02-16-07, 06:19 AM
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wounded Marines given VIP treatment
By Staff Sgt. F.B. Zimmerman
Public Affairs Chief
Nearly 50 combat wounded Marines were treated to every football fan’s dream Feb. 4 as they were given the opportunity of attending Super Bowl XLI in Miami, courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.
This was the second year in a row the Browns organization has donated 50 tickets to the game for wounded veterans, according to Staff Sgt. Shawn Tart, operations chief for Marine 4 Life Injured Support, who also acted as an escort for the trip. Making the trip were Marines from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C., along with several injured Marines from the local Marine Corps Reserve Center in Hialeah, Fla.
‘‘It was great – very smooth,” said Maj. Peter Ortell, head of the Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program within the Marine 4 Life program.
Throughout the trip the Marines were given VIP treatment, and had a big welcome waiting for them in Miami, Ortell said. As the C-9 from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s Marine Transportion Cherry Point’s Marine Transport Squadron One taxied to its parking spot at Miami International Airport on Super Bowl Sunday, they were greeted by about 40 police cars and fire trucks. They were ‘‘saluted” by the trucks’ water cannons as they shot arches of water over the plane.
As the Marines came off the aircraft they were greeted by an honor guard and District 12 commissioner ‘‘Pepe” Diaz, a former Marine, who read a proclamation and presented the Marines with keys to the city. The group was then transported to the Reserve center with a police escort the entire way, Ortell said. There they were given a reception by Marines of the center, members of the local Marine Corps League, and Young Marines. The injured Marines also had several high-profile guests who waited there to see them – Hulk Hogan and The Big Show from World Wrestling Entertainment.
Hogan was honored to be there and meet ‘‘the real heroes,” according to one Marine who was in attendance.
‘‘Hulk Hogan and The Big Show stuck around to see the Marines even though we were running late,” Tart said. ‘‘They didn’t care about getting media attention; they just wanted to spend some time with the Marines.”
After the reception the group was again given a police escort to the stadium, where they were escorted in through the VIP entrance to their seating area, which was in the bottom section of the one end zone. Ortell said they checked an online ticket agency before heading to the stadium, and tickets in their section were going for $9,500 each – face value for each ticket was $600.
Despite the rain, Ortell said the energy level in the stadium was incredible and the pregame production was over the top.
Tart said he could see the Marines fill with pride as the Quantico Marine Corps Band took the field during the pregame show.
‘‘They all came to attention, or some sort of physical attention when they played The Marines’ Hymn,” Tart said. ‘‘The overwhelming thing was when the Iwo Jima Marines came out [Marines who reenacted the flag raising on Iwo Jima] ... The Marines took the Super Bowl, the Marines landed.”
As the game got underway fans sitting around the injured Marines eventually learned who they were, and the generosity began, Ortell said.
‘‘There were some Chicago Bears fans sitting around them and when they found out they were Marines, they bought them whatever they wanted the rest of the night,” he said. ‘‘They probably spent between $200 and $300.”
Tart said he saw the same thing as football fans would find out why the group was there. He said they would shake the Marines’ hands, hug them and ask them if there was anything they could do for them.
For one of the injured Marines who made the trip, the experience was surreal.
‘‘I was shocked [when told he was going to the game], not many people get the chance to go the Super Bowl because it costs so much,” said Lance Cpl. Carlos Lopes, a combat engineer who was on the trip. ‘‘It was an unreal experience being flown down to the Super Bowl and given the VIP treatment ... people were looking at us like, ‘whoa, who are these guys.’ The experience makes everything worthwhile.”
Lopes was injured on Nov. 18, 2005, in Husaybah, Iraq, when a fellow Marine fell off a roof about 40 feet above him and landed on his head, breaking several cervical vertebrae and compressing multiple discs in his spine. He’s said he’s ‘‘getting there” physically, but still attends physical therapy and goes to the chiropractor several times a week.
Even though each injured Marine was given $200 spending money for the trip from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Lopes said they didn’t really need it.
‘‘People were making sure we were taken care of,” he said. ‘‘I didn’t spend much money because people were taking care of us so well.”
Lopes said from start to finish the trip was great.
‘‘I felt really honored ... it was a humbling experience,” he said. ‘‘I felt like I was on top of the world, you can’t beat that.”
It took hard work from roughly 100 people to pull this trip off, according to Ortell. He said the effort was worth it.
‘‘The whole trip was one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” he said. ‘‘Being with those guys for that 48 hour period was great ... it was good to be a part of it.”
Tart said the trip was just another example of ‘‘Marines taking care of Marines. Everyone doing what they could to give those guys the treatment they deserve. Semper Fidelis.”
Wounded Marines given VIP treatment
By Staff Sgt. F.B. Zimmerman
Public Affairs Chief
Nearly 50 combat wounded Marines were treated to every football fan’s dream Feb. 4 as they were given the opportunity of attending Super Bowl XLI in Miami, courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.
This was the second year in a row the Browns organization has donated 50 tickets to the game for wounded veterans, according to Staff Sgt. Shawn Tart, operations chief for Marine 4 Life Injured Support, who also acted as an escort for the trip. Making the trip were Marines from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C., along with several injured Marines from the local Marine Corps Reserve Center in Hialeah, Fla.
‘‘It was great – very smooth,” said Maj. Peter Ortell, head of the Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program within the Marine 4 Life program.
Throughout the trip the Marines were given VIP treatment, and had a big welcome waiting for them in Miami, Ortell said. As the C-9 from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s Marine Transportion Cherry Point’s Marine Transport Squadron One taxied to its parking spot at Miami International Airport on Super Bowl Sunday, they were greeted by about 40 police cars and fire trucks. They were ‘‘saluted” by the trucks’ water cannons as they shot arches of water over the plane.
As the Marines came off the aircraft they were greeted by an honor guard and District 12 commissioner ‘‘Pepe” Diaz, a former Marine, who read a proclamation and presented the Marines with keys to the city. The group was then transported to the Reserve center with a police escort the entire way, Ortell said. There they were given a reception by Marines of the center, members of the local Marine Corps League, and Young Marines. The injured Marines also had several high-profile guests who waited there to see them – Hulk Hogan and The Big Show from World Wrestling Entertainment.
Hogan was honored to be there and meet ‘‘the real heroes,” according to one Marine who was in attendance.
‘‘Hulk Hogan and The Big Show stuck around to see the Marines even though we were running late,” Tart said. ‘‘They didn’t care about getting media attention; they just wanted to spend some time with the Marines.”
After the reception the group was again given a police escort to the stadium, where they were escorted in through the VIP entrance to their seating area, which was in the bottom section of the one end zone. Ortell said they checked an online ticket agency before heading to the stadium, and tickets in their section were going for $9,500 each – face value for each ticket was $600.
Despite the rain, Ortell said the energy level in the stadium was incredible and the pregame production was over the top.
Tart said he could see the Marines fill with pride as the Quantico Marine Corps Band took the field during the pregame show.
‘‘They all came to attention, or some sort of physical attention when they played The Marines’ Hymn,” Tart said. ‘‘The overwhelming thing was when the Iwo Jima Marines came out [Marines who reenacted the flag raising on Iwo Jima] ... The Marines took the Super Bowl, the Marines landed.”
As the game got underway fans sitting around the injured Marines eventually learned who they were, and the generosity began, Ortell said.
‘‘There were some Chicago Bears fans sitting around them and when they found out they were Marines, they bought them whatever they wanted the rest of the night,” he said. ‘‘They probably spent between $200 and $300.”
Tart said he saw the same thing as football fans would find out why the group was there. He said they would shake the Marines’ hands, hug them and ask them if there was anything they could do for them.
For one of the injured Marines who made the trip, the experience was surreal.
‘‘I was shocked [when told he was going to the game], not many people get the chance to go the Super Bowl because it costs so much,” said Lance Cpl. Carlos Lopes, a combat engineer who was on the trip. ‘‘It was an unreal experience being flown down to the Super Bowl and given the VIP treatment ... people were looking at us like, ‘whoa, who are these guys.’ The experience makes everything worthwhile.”
Lopes was injured on Nov. 18, 2005, in Husaybah, Iraq, when a fellow Marine fell off a roof about 40 feet above him and landed on his head, breaking several cervical vertebrae and compressing multiple discs in his spine. He’s said he’s ‘‘getting there” physically, but still attends physical therapy and goes to the chiropractor several times a week.
Even though each injured Marine was given $200 spending money for the trip from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Lopes said they didn’t really need it.
‘‘People were making sure we were taken care of,” he said. ‘‘I didn’t spend much money because people were taking care of us so well.”
Lopes said from start to finish the trip was great.
‘‘I felt really honored ... it was a humbling experience,” he said. ‘‘I felt like I was on top of the world, you can’t beat that.”
It took hard work from roughly 100 people to pull this trip off, according to Ortell. He said the effort was worth it.
‘‘The whole trip was one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” he said. ‘‘Being with those guys for that 48 hour period was great ... it was good to be a part of it.”
Tart said the trip was just another example of ‘‘Marines taking care of Marines. Everyone doing what they could to give those guys the treatment they deserve. Semper Fidelis.”