In the early morning on Dec. 7, the first of three convoys of Nassau County firefighters set out for the U.S. Army base at Fort Bragg, N.C on a journey to help wounded military veterans in the latest effort of Operation Wounded Warrior.
The following day a second convoy headed for the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, also in North Carolina. A third convoy left on Friday for the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
The North Carolina convoys had 30 or 40 men each and included a 17-foot U-Haul packed full of fleece jackets, personal DVDs, iPODs, books, sweatshirts, T-shirts, socks and other necessities, as well as 20 laptop computer tablets to be raffled in each facility, according to Joseph O’Grady, president of Operation Wounded Warrior.
The Bethesda convoy boasted 15 volunteers with another U-Haul and 15 men. In Fort Bragg, the firefighters saw approximately 650 wounded soldiers. They visited approximately 260 wounded soldiers in Camp Lejune.
“It’s a real awakening to the suffering that they’ve gone through, as well as their families,” said O’Grady, who has made the early December trip four times.
O’Grady said despite the “life-changing” injuries the soldiers have sustained in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, they haven’t lost their positive attitudes.
“They all have tremendous spirit,” O’Grady said. “You’re talking to guys who just lost an arm or lost a leg. They all say this ain’t going to keep them down. It’s really great to see.”
Operation Wounded Warrior had its beginnings in the Stewart Manor and Floral Park Fire Departments in 2004.
For Tony Gagliardi, chief of the Williston Park Fire Department, it was the first Wounded Warrior convoy trip he made, as one of seven Williston Park volunteers who participated this year. Gagliardi visited both Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune with his wife, Patty.
“It was a very enlightening experience. You really don’t realize how bad it is until you go down there and see some of these guys,” he said. “You give them a pair of socks or underwear, you’d think you were giving them a million dollars.”
He said he witnessed the “very intense” rehabilitation that some of the soldiers endure with the objective of getting back into service.
They want to get back in the saddle,” Gagliardi said. “They’re more depressed that they can’t get back on the battlefield than they are that they’re injured.”
The most difficult part of the trip for Gagliardi was saying farewell to the veterans he visited with on the trip.
“It’s heart-wrenching when you have to say goodbye to some of these guys. You want to do more, but there’s nothing more you can do,” Gagliardi said.
Contributions come from the volunteers themselves, and from fundraising events that enable purchase of things the wounded veterans need most.
An annual silent auction at the New Hyde Park Fire Department helped raised funds. So did a night of music at the Dublin Pub in New Hyde Park in November, with proceeds from the evening going for Operation Wounded Warrior.
Last month, Operation Wounded Warrior ran a clothing collection drive in New Hyde Park in Centennial Hall on Tulip Ave.
Members of the fire departments in New Hyde Park and Floral Park also reached out to local schools and civic organizations to solicit contributions of new clothing – particularly sweatshirts and sweatpants – and money.
Operation Wounded Warrior is also active locally, donating $5,400 in food cards annually to vets on Long Island.
After the yearly drive to support the wounded veterans is concluded and the convoys return, there’s plenty of time for the volunteer firefighters to reflect on the experience.
“It’s a great feeling, know that you were able to bring a little bit of cheer and a little bit of thanks. It’s a good feeling,” O’Grady said. “It’s a somber feeling because you sweet how injured these kids are
It puts your own problems in a better perspective, just how lucky were.”
For Thomas Smith, ex-chief of the New Hyde Park Fire Department and a 25-year member, this was the seventh trip he has made in as many years since the inception of the program. This time his destination was Camp Lejeune.
“It’s a very humbling experience. It’s truly humbling when you see the determination of these guys who are injured to rehabilitate themselves and get back into action. It really puts things in perspective for me,” Smith said.
In past years, Smith said Operation Wounded Warrior has donated flat-screen TVs to the recreation rooms of all three hospital facilities. He said the wounded veterans are always pleased to see the gifts, but even more pleased to receive the visitors.
“Even absent those items, these guys are thrilled that we remember them, thrilled that we take the time to say thank you,” Smith said. They have tremendous gratitude that we show up.”
