Veteran Writing Samples
by Lisa R. Hooker
Reaching out to the “Wounded Warriors”
Appeared in the June 2007 issue of Country Living magazine, published by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Columbus Ohio.
The wars are different. The enemy is different. The injuries are different.
But military service and combat create a bond that spans the generations.
Just ask Bill Gerardino and Don “Pop” Porter. In January, the members of Post 10523 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Canal Winchester journeyed to the Wounded Warrior Support Section at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Known officially as Maxwell Hall, the renovated and adapted barracks resembles a hotel with suites. It houses about 80.
“We went to visit with the men and hear their stories and their concerns. We want them to know they are not forgotten,” says Gerardino, a former Marine who served in VietNam. His son and a friend also made the trip.
“It was instant kinship,” Porter says. “We’re just two old veterans who went to listen and be there. That’s all.”
Wounded Warrior Barracks. Severely hurt military personnel usually leave the service. However, the U.S. Marine Corps opened the Wounded Warrior barracks in 2005 for injured Marines who remain on active duty as they recover.
Some heal sufficiently to return to combat. For those whose injuries prevent that, life at Maxwell Hall keeps them productive. Assigned duties are commensurate with physical ability. Administrative tasks, maintenance work and tutoring military children are part of daily life. LtCol Tim Maxwell is the barracks’ officer in charge. He’s also its namesake.
While serving in Iraq in October 2004, Maxwell survived a mortar attack, but shrapnel caused a traumatic brain injury. He’s come a long way, but is still recovering from his injuries.
While residents don’t receive medical care at the barracks, the staff assists them and their families with logistics, paperwork and navigating the outpatient and military medical care systems.
Beyond day-to-day tasks, the men find comfort in camaraderie as they heal physically and emotionally. “Being together helps them. It’s a place where Marines can recover and be with others who have the same combat experience in Iraq,” Porter says.
“They understand each other. They know about struggles, frustration and fear,” Gerardino says.
Physical wounds commonly include traumatic brain injuries, loss of limbs and vision problems. Emotionally, many suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Marines talked to Porter and Gerardino about their fears and their concerns. What the future will bring? Will they hold a job again? Will their friends back home accept them now? Will their marriage survive?
The years melted away as Gerardino and Porter spent time eating, chatting and going to musters with the men.
“It was like being back in the service again,” Gerardino says. “I felt 50 years younger just being around them.
“We connected, even with our age differences. We felt right at home,” Porter says. He served 39 years in the military with the U.S. Marines, Air Force, Air Force Reserve and National Guard.
The Wounded Warrior Barracks have been so helpful to the injured as they recover that similar facilities are planned at Camp Pendleton in California and elsewhere.
Despite a heroic outlook, the physical and emotional wounds create unanticipated short and long-term needs for injured service members and their families. Hope for the Warriors was established to meet those needs and create hope beyond recovery. The civilian organization is not affiliated with the U.S. military.
“Our office is here in Camp Lejeune, but we reach out across the country and across branches of the military,” says Shannon Maxwell. She is Tim’s wife. After her husband’s injury, Maxwell and her friend, Robin Kelleher, co-founded the organization in 2006 to help other military families manage severe war injuries and daily life.
Through donations and fundraising events, Hope for the Warriors awards scholarships to U.S. military spouses of the wounded and fallen. To restore hope, it grants wishes of the severely injured. It supports Camp Lejeune’s Maxwell Hall, similar facilities elsewhere and family support groups around the country.
While donations are always welcome, Maxwell encourages local communities to embrace the wounded who return home from the military.
“Reach out. The families like to talk and they need to talk. They aren’t broken because they were injured and may now have a disability. They are vital community members. As they come home, many do hold jobs, become coaches again, and are active parents,” she says.
Australia changes fallen soldier burial law
after gesture by U.S. Army officer
Appeared in the November 2004 issue of Country Living magazine, published by Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
U.S. Army Master Sergeant (retired) Eugene Jordan has a special place in Australian military history - and Aussie hearts - for honoring the wishes of a fallen Australian comrade who wanted to be buried in his native land.
Already in the Army, Jordan volunteered in 1964 as an advisor to South Viet Nam. After training, he landed in Saigon in 1965 as part of the Military Aid Command Viet Nam. He was sent to Da Nang and was met by Ronald Scott, a member of the Royal Australian Infantry and the Australian Army Training Team Viet Nam.
The two became fast friends. “The Australians were big on nicknames. His was ‘Scottie’ and he nicknamed me ‘Tiny’ because I was a pretty big guy back then,” he says.
Jordan and Scott soon were transferred to Tam Ky, where they joined a U.S. captain and lieutenant as advisors.
“We were planning a search and destroy mission in a village in a hot Viet Cong area on September 9, 1965. Scottie turned to me and said he couldn’t carry me out in an emergency. He was smaller in stature than me,” Jordan says.
When they set out the next day, Scott and the lieutenant were the lead element. “As they moved into the open tidal flat, Viet Cong opened up with automatic fire from 500 yards away. They hit Scottie in the head, but I didn’t know it. The captain and I were behind them,” Jordan says. They quickly caught up. The MediVac arrived after frantic radio contact. Scott was evacuated by helicopter, but died before reaching Chou Lai Marine Hospital.
Scott was to be buried in the British War Cemetery in Malaya, as Australian policy called for fallen servicemen to be buried overseas.
Jordan recalled, though, that Scott wanted to be buried in Australia. “He knew the United States returned its war dead home. He said if he died, he wanted to be buried in Australia. Scottie loved his country.”
With this in mind, Jordan began making arrangements to send the body home and pay for the expenses himself. “I wrote my wife and told her to put $1,000 in the checking account.” Jordan worked with Australian and American military and embassy officials. Word soon spread of Jordan’s resolve and intentions. He received administrative leave to accompany Scott’s body home on Pan American World Airways. The $1,000 sat in Jordan’s checking account, though. Donations by American and Australian servicemen funded the cost of flying Scott’s body home. Because Jordan paid his own way, the remaining contributions were given to Scott’s widow, Enid, and their two children.
Scott was buried in a formal military service September 29, 1965 in his beloved Australia. “I did something for a friend. Nothing else,” Jordan says. “He wanted to go home and I was going to send him home.”
Jordan returned to Viet Nam, serving until March 1966. When he came home to America, he was a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor at Ohio University until he retired in 1967 after 20 years of military service.
Today, Jordan is a member and past commander and member of Harold R. Ray Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10523 in Canal Winchester. The Lithopolis resident is a South Central Power member.
Almost 40 years later, many Aussies still consider Jordan to be a hero. He has made several return trips. His efforts also inspired the Australian Parliament. It caused quite a stir that an American soldier brought one of their boys home. On Jan. 21, 1966 the government changed its law, allowing the bodies of service personnel who die overseas to be returned to Australia at the government’s expense.
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