thedrifter
05-16-07, 06:30 AM
Dinner will benefit wounded troops
Web Posted: 05/15/2007 11:58 PM CDT
Scott Huddleston
Express-News
A former Marine Corps drill instructor who went on to appear in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" and a young Marine burned in Iraq are among the speakers slated for a spirited fundraiser Thursday night.
Tickets are still available for a reception and dinner at the Westin Riverwalk to benefit the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, which provides support for injured Marines as well as Navy corpsmen who serve with Marine units, along with their families.
The more than 3,000 troops hurt in the Middle East and treated at Brooke Army Medical Center include more than 200 Marines and nearly 50 sailors.
"Having this event in San Antonio makes perfect sense. We have had a lot of Marines come through with injuries that vary from burns to loss of multiple limbs," said Stephanie Killinger, a spokeswoman for the event.
The fund was founded in 2004 by the wives of three Marines. It has raised more than $10 million for everything from medical equipment for the wounded to hotel and travel costs and other aid for families.
The fund paid for an electric guitar for a Marine whose hands were burned, giving him not only a morale boost but a means to use his musical talent as physical therapy.
Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Gene Overstreet helped organize the event to help family members of Marines at BAMC and a dozen other military and Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide and in Germany and Okinawa.
Although the military and VA systems often work well together, gaps in coverage and limits on government support sometimes cause hardships for the wounded and their families, Overstreet said.
"When you meet these young men who've had ears and fingers burned off, your heart really goes out to them and their families," he said.
A 6 p.m. reception and silent auction will be followed by a dinner, live auction and patriotic music starting at 7 p.m.
More than 60 Marines wounded in the Middle East, as well as Marines who fought at Iwo Jima and other battles of World War II and in Korea and Vietnam, will be honored during a "pageant of uniforms." The pageant will feature Marine Corps attire dating to 1775.
Speakers will include R. Lee Ermey, who was in the Marines for 11 years and served in Vietnam. He later went into acting and played a drill instructor in "The Boys In Company C" (197 and a helicopter pilot in "Apocalypse Now" (1979). He is best known for his role as a foul-mouthed gunnery sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket" (1987), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Also slated to speak is Cpl. Zach Schudrowitz, 24, of Ocean Springs, Miss. Schudrowitz had serious burns on more than 20 percent of his body, mostly his arms, when a roadside bomb exploded near Karabilah, Iraq, in 2005.
Schudrowitz has since undergone treatment and rehabilitation at BAMC.
Sponsorships for the event start at $250 per seat and go to $3,000 to $10,000 for seating for 10 people, or $25,000 for 20.
For more information, call (210) 326-0136.
shuddleston@express-news.net
Ellie
Web Posted: 05/15/2007 11:58 PM CDT
Scott Huddleston
Express-News
A former Marine Corps drill instructor who went on to appear in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" and a young Marine burned in Iraq are among the speakers slated for a spirited fundraiser Thursday night.
Tickets are still available for a reception and dinner at the Westin Riverwalk to benefit the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, which provides support for injured Marines as well as Navy corpsmen who serve with Marine units, along with their families.
The more than 3,000 troops hurt in the Middle East and treated at Brooke Army Medical Center include more than 200 Marines and nearly 50 sailors.
"Having this event in San Antonio makes perfect sense. We have had a lot of Marines come through with injuries that vary from burns to loss of multiple limbs," said Stephanie Killinger, a spokeswoman for the event.
The fund was founded in 2004 by the wives of three Marines. It has raised more than $10 million for everything from medical equipment for the wounded to hotel and travel costs and other aid for families.
The fund paid for an electric guitar for a Marine whose hands were burned, giving him not only a morale boost but a means to use his musical talent as physical therapy.
Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Gene Overstreet helped organize the event to help family members of Marines at BAMC and a dozen other military and Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide and in Germany and Okinawa.
Although the military and VA systems often work well together, gaps in coverage and limits on government support sometimes cause hardships for the wounded and their families, Overstreet said.
"When you meet these young men who've had ears and fingers burned off, your heart really goes out to them and their families," he said.
A 6 p.m. reception and silent auction will be followed by a dinner, live auction and patriotic music starting at 7 p.m.
More than 60 Marines wounded in the Middle East, as well as Marines who fought at Iwo Jima and other battles of World War II and in Korea and Vietnam, will be honored during a "pageant of uniforms." The pageant will feature Marine Corps attire dating to 1775.
Speakers will include R. Lee Ermey, who was in the Marines for 11 years and served in Vietnam. He later went into acting and played a drill instructor in "The Boys In Company C" (197 and a helicopter pilot in "Apocalypse Now" (1979). He is best known for his role as a foul-mouthed gunnery sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket" (1987), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Also slated to speak is Cpl. Zach Schudrowitz, 24, of Ocean Springs, Miss. Schudrowitz had serious burns on more than 20 percent of his body, mostly his arms, when a roadside bomb exploded near Karabilah, Iraq, in 2005.
Schudrowitz has since undergone treatment and rehabilitation at BAMC.
Sponsorships for the event start at $250 per seat and go to $3,000 to $10,000 for seating for 10 people, or $25,000 for 20.
For more information, call (210) 326-0136.
shuddleston@express-news.net
Ellie