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A TESTAMENT TO TRUE ENDURANCE -- Injured
veterans
peddle 110 miles to raise awareness and
celebrate survival.
A group of riders approaches the
30-mile mark. Organizers of the ride hope to inspire other
disabled veterans to try a sport that they might feel is beyond
their abilities. (photo By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post) |
Story here...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2007
/04/28/AR2007042801279.html
Story below:
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A Testament to True Endurance
Injured Veterans Peddle 110 Miles to Raise
Awareness and Celebrate Survival
By Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writer
GETTYSBURG, Pa., --The troops rolled out in unison from the battlefield
Saturday morning, nearly all injured veterans of more recent wars.
Some of the most severely injured -- those with amputated arms or legs
-- were outfitted with special bicycles for the two-day, 110-mile ride
from Gettysburg to Bethesda.
"It is amazing to know what you can do after such a traumatic event in
your life," said Nathan Potts of Oklahoma, a patient at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center in the District, whose leg was amputated Jan. 6 after he
was wounded in a roadside explosion in Iraq.
The group of about 100 veterans, some also from National Naval Medical
Center in Maryland and Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, camped out
Friday night on a farm on the historic battlefield that belongs to a
former Marine.
They headed toward Frederick on Saturday morning for a layover before
joining 200 additional riders and supporters in Washington to finish the
final leg to Bethesda.
Organizers of the bike ride are trying to raise awareness and money for
exercise equipment for disabled civilians and war veterans who do not
qualify for special equipment.
They also hope to encourage other veterans to try a sport that they
might feel is beyond their abilities, said Chris Carrigg, executive
director of World TEAM Sports, of Dorchester, Mass., which sponsored the
ride.
But above all, this was a ride to celebrate triumphs and enduring human
spirit.
"It's not like a pep rally, where people show their support or put
bumper stickers on their cars," said Marine Lt. Col. Steve Danyluk, a
reservist at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina who is an American Airlines
pilot in his civilian life.
He was participating in his second ride and persuaded his employer to
donate airline tickets for some of the veterans. "This ride is like a
mission for these guys," he said.
On the bus ride Friday afternoon from Walter Reed to Gettysburg, injured
troops swapped stories of war, the blasts that blew off some of their
limbs and left them disabled.
But by Friday night in Gettysburg, they celebrated their survival over
steak, baked beans and kegs of beer.
Marines from Camp David established a huge tent city on the farm. Some
of the riders slept outside on the battlefield and others on cots in
white tents.
"You sit on hallowed ground in Gettysburg," said retired Marine Cpl.
Seamus Garrahy, who hosted the riders for the second year at his farm.
Of the battle, one of the bloodiest in U.S. history, he said, "They
could hear it and smell it from 30 miles away."
Marine Gen. James Conway came out Saturday morning to send the riders
off under a bright blue sky that would later turn rainy. The haze in the
morning still hovered over the battlefield, however.
"It's a great day," Conway said in his pep talk. "All right. Be safe."
The riders will leave from the Geico offices on Western Avenue in the
District about 3 p.m. Sunday. A video of the ride will be featured
Monday on
http://www.washingtonpost.com.
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Larry Scott --
