thedrifter
12-14-07, 06:55 AM
A DEBT OF GRATITUDE
December 14, 2007 -- They gave everything but the ultimate sacrifice - and now Post readers are giving back.
For the past week, these pages have featured reports by Ralph Peters from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where the Warrior and Family Support Center is providing an indispensable - and too-often overlooked - service for America's wounded vets.
Medical care facilities at Sam Houston are top-notch, thanks largely to the generosity of New York's own Fisher family and its Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
The Fishers, along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans, donated the money to build the $50 million Center for the Intrepid - widely considered the world's best rehab facility for amputees and burn victims.
But until the Support Center opened four years ago, the wounded warriors there had no good refuge - no place to reconnect with their families, prepare themselves for civilian life or simply relax with their comrades.
Not that they need, or want, our pity; far from it, as Peters reports.
Indeed, the soldiers and Marines he interviewed - many of whom lost a limb or contracted severe burns from roadside bombs or other attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan - exhibit courage equal to the best seen on the battlefield, as they start the long road to recovery.
But they still need the respect and support that America so deeply owes them - and they get it from the center's tireless volunteers, who spend countless hours organizing outings and résumé-writing classes, assisting distraught loved ones or just lending an ear.
And now Post readers - from New York and beyond - are stepping up, too.
Ground was recently broken on a sparkling-new facility to replace the one overcrowded room that houses the interim Support Center. San Antonio firms have donated millions in construction supplies and services for that project.
But when America asks its warriors to fight, the entire country owes them a debt of gratitude - so The Post asked the rest of the nation to pitch in, too.
And guess what? Tens of thousands of dollars flooded into Returning Heroes Home, the nonprofit that sponsors the center, in less than a week - with much more on the way. (It's not too late to donate, either - see the box on the previous page for details.)
It may seem a small gesture, given all that the troops have done for America.
But it's sorely needed. And deserved.
Ellie
December 14, 2007 -- They gave everything but the ultimate sacrifice - and now Post readers are giving back.
For the past week, these pages have featured reports by Ralph Peters from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where the Warrior and Family Support Center is providing an indispensable - and too-often overlooked - service for America's wounded vets.
Medical care facilities at Sam Houston are top-notch, thanks largely to the generosity of New York's own Fisher family and its Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
The Fishers, along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans, donated the money to build the $50 million Center for the Intrepid - widely considered the world's best rehab facility for amputees and burn victims.
But until the Support Center opened four years ago, the wounded warriors there had no good refuge - no place to reconnect with their families, prepare themselves for civilian life or simply relax with their comrades.
Not that they need, or want, our pity; far from it, as Peters reports.
Indeed, the soldiers and Marines he interviewed - many of whom lost a limb or contracted severe burns from roadside bombs or other attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan - exhibit courage equal to the best seen on the battlefield, as they start the long road to recovery.
But they still need the respect and support that America so deeply owes them - and they get it from the center's tireless volunteers, who spend countless hours organizing outings and résumé-writing classes, assisting distraught loved ones or just lending an ear.
And now Post readers - from New York and beyond - are stepping up, too.
Ground was recently broken on a sparkling-new facility to replace the one overcrowded room that houses the interim Support Center. San Antonio firms have donated millions in construction supplies and services for that project.
But when America asks its warriors to fight, the entire country owes them a debt of gratitude - so The Post asked the rest of the nation to pitch in, too.
And guess what? Tens of thousands of dollars flooded into Returning Heroes Home, the nonprofit that sponsors the center, in less than a week - with much more on the way. (It's not too late to donate, either - see the box on the previous page for details.)
It may seem a small gesture, given all that the troops have done for America.
But it's sorely needed. And deserved.
Ellie