My wife Bonnie and I made a trip to Washington, D.C., last week to meet my son Paul, who is still recovering from wounds he suffered in Iraq last year. It was the first time Paul had been given leave, and this was a planned trip that was interrupted when he was wounded in July 29, 2007.

It was the first visit to D.C. for his family: wife Dawn, 18 year-old son Stacey, and 17 year-old daughter Ellen.

I wanted to visit the Vietnam Memorial and see the new World War II Memorial for the first time. The rest of the time was allocated for anything that Paul’s family wanted to see, and those we covered with a vengeance to try to satisfy their curiosities. I’m still amazed that we covered so much territory in four days. Not only did we visit most of the monuments on the lists, but also we went to the Library of Congress, the National Archives and the Smithsonian exhibits, which included the Museum of Natural History, the Zoo and Air and Space Museum.

The only thing that Bonnie wanted was to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center and deliver some homemade cookies she had baked for the occasion. Her desire was to see some of the patients who may not have had family or friends to visit them.

Paul called a friend, Brian, a medic from the his battalion (the Black Lions) of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One), who was wounded two weeks after Paul had been hit by a roadside bomb. I thought Paul was a miracle walking, but Brian was even more amazing. He had lost a significant part of his skull and one eye and, as he said, after five surgeries, much of his skull was titanium. He is still in rehabilitation but living at home.

I had mentioned something about a Purple Heart, and he said he had a handful of them. He said, “When others look for cover when the shooting starts, us medics have to look after the wounded (under fire).”

We found that we could not go to the wards because many of the patients had some exotic infections from the environment in Iraq, so we went to the Orthopedics Rehabilitation Room.

The men we met there were in various stages of recovery after having lost limbs, but they made it easy for us to be there. Virtually everyone we met had a smile on his face and was very appreciative of the cookies. Many said they shouldn’t eat them because they had gained weight, but most took them and said they enjoyed them.

There were one or two who didn’t appear to have come to grips with their new physical situations, but most of the patients were working hard to get to a level of wellness that would allow them to pick up their lives. Some even wanted to stay in the Army and continue to serve until retirement.

Brian is going to complete his career in the Army in the medical field in a non-combat role after recovery.

We went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to see if we could help raise the spirits of the Wounded Warriors, but we were the ones whose spirits were lifted.

Volunteers man the U.S. Armed Services and, for the most part, they wanted to be in Iraq and Afghanistan because that was their job. I‘m constantly amazed at those with missing limbs who want to return. I think their recovery from severe wounds was exemplified by the soldier I saw walking by the Vietnam Memorial on both of his prosthetic legs – without the aid of walking canes or crutches.

The men and women of our military are very special, patriotic people of whom our nation should be very proud.

When you see any of our military members, take the time to stop and thank them for risking injury over there so we aren’t exposed to those risks here in the U.S.

T&D Correspondent Larry P. Jordan can be reached by phone at 803-874-3276.

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