Have you heard about this Annual Stand Up ‘We Have To Protect Our Own And Honor The Fallen’?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 08:49:46 -0500

Have you heard about this Annual Stand Up ‘We Have To Protect Our Own And Honor The Fallen’?

The annual Stand Up for Heroes event brought laughs and an added reminder to continue caring for service members and vets.

Stand Up for Heroes, hosted by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, held its ninth show Nov. 10. The event, meant to honor wounded veterans, featured comedians like Ray Romano, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart, and topped off the night with a performance from Bruce Springsteen.

http://taskandpurpose.com/wounded-veteran-we-have-to-protect-our-own-and-honor-the-fallen/

But of the veterans, all seated with their loved ones in the front rows at the Madison Square Garden theater, there was one who stood out — former Marine Kirstie Ennis. Ennis took the stage to tell the story of how she went from being a wounded warrior to a survivor to a 2016 Paralympic Games hopeful.

On June 23, 2012, Ennis, a helicopter door gunner, was involved in a helicopter accident that left her body and mind scarred.

After she said, “I endured 38 surgeries to put my face and body back together, suffered a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, broken bones, and open wounds of all sorts.”

With two years of speech, cognitive, and physical therapy, as well as mental health care, she stood on the stage and told the crowd about the duties she and all other veterans still have to their brothers and sisters in service.

Wounded Veteran: ‘We Have To Protect Our Own And Honor The Fallen’

Former Marine Kirstie Ennis reminds veterans of their responsibility to care for their brothers and sisters in arms.

Response by CW4 Scott Kjendlie made Nov 25 at 2015 8:58 AM

CW4 Scott Kjendlie — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 08:58:33 -0500

I've never heard of this, but I'm glad to see events like this are held. It shows that in fact the service members and veterans are not forgotten, plus gives that reminder mixed in with some humor.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Nov 25 at 2015 10:17 AM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 10:17:01 -0500

WOW! She sure went through HELL. Glad to see she's back in one peace and able to get up on the stage and share her story. It's good that she's been able to cope with it and somehow find some peace. She has a good spirit and nature. God bless her and all Combat Veterans and Veterans.
It's good that these VETS have each other and can share their stories/experiences and try to get through it.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Nov 25 at 2015 12:41 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 12:41:43 -0500

No COL Mikel J. Burroughs I had not heard about the annual Stand Up for Heroes event We Have To Protect Our Own And Honor The Fallen.’
It seems that it was successful.

Response by COL Ted Mc made Nov 25 at 2015 2:12 PM

COL Ted Mc — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 14:12:03 -0500

COL Mikel J. Burroughs - Mikel; I'm one hell of a lot happier over events like that one than I am over "Veterans' Day Sales" or "Memorial Day Sales".

Rather than "sales", if every retailer were to sell to certified veterans "at cost" then that would reduce their profit by around 7% (NOT by seven percentage points) so that their profit would go from (for example) $100.00 to $93.00.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 25 at 2015 6:09 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 18:09:09 -0500

I haven't heard of this. It should be advertised more. What a brave, hard headed, Marine. God blesses door gunners sometimes. Thanks for sharing COL Mikel J. Burroughs.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Nov 26 at 2015 12:57 AM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 00:57:41 -0500

Thanks for sharing. It's actually kind of sad that we even feel the need to have these stand-ups. What I mean by that is, this is something everyone should be doing already.