Wounded Warriors, Inc., a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded or killed during combat operations, today announced efforts to honor every soldier, sailor, Marine and airman killed as a result of fanatic Islam terrorist events. At its retreat in western Nebraska, memorial bricks will serve as the foundation of The Hagel-Kerrey Retreat, honoring service members who have died in terrorist attacks.
Omaha, Neb. (PRWEB) January 23, 2008 -- Marine Corporal Robert V. McMaugh was killed in action in Beirut on April 18, 1983. Ensign Andrew Tripplett of Mississippi was one of 17 sailors killed in action aboard the USS Cole on October 13, 2000. And Sgt. Maj. Lacey B. Ivory, a soldier from Missouri and Information Systems Technician Second Class Kris Romeo Bishundat, a sailor from Maryland were among 119 individuals serving their country on September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon when they too were "killed in action".
Today, a Marine reserve colonel from Nebraska, who served in Iraq, believes the 4,000-plus members of the U.S. armed forces who have been killed in terrorist acts during the past four decades deserve their "honor wall" in the form of a memorial brick floor at a retreat for wounded warriors.
Colonel John Folsom started out trying to provide a diversion for the wounded soldiers and Marines as they passed through the military hospitals in Germany in 2003 on their way out of Iraq. He passed the hat and collected enough money to buy a big screen television and a few DVDs. That was the start of Wounded Warriors, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that offers vacations to the families of service members wounded or killed in action.
Today, Wounded Warriors owns three condos in Florida, one property in Galveston, Texas and 80 acres of land in western Nebraska where Folsom intends to build a retreat and the Hagel-Kerrey Lodge, named for Sen. Charles Hagel, R-Neb., and former Sen. Bob Kerrey, veterans of the Vietnam War, as a place of healing for military families and where the memorial brick floor will be laid.
"I believe we have been fighting against fanatic Islamic terrorism since the first attacks against U.S. personnel in Beirut in 1982," Folsom said. "It's important that every soldier, sailor, marine and airman who has lost their life while serving our country is somehow memorialized," continued Folsom.
Wounded Warriors, Inc. is in the process of raising the necessary funds to place eight-inch square memorial bricks on the floor of the Hagel-Kerrey Lodge at the Wounded Warriors Retreat in western Nebraska. Each brick will be inscribed with the name and unit insignia of each fallen warrior.
Wounded Warriors, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded or killed during combat operations. For more information, please visit www.woundedwarriors.org.
Ann Pedersen, Director of Lovgren Marketing Group for Wounded Warriors, 402-397-7158, apedersen @ lovgren.com
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