Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Another Fantastic Trip! August 2008

Things get hectic as school approaches...then add having company, time can get away from you! I'll be taking pictures tomorrow as school starts for our four grandchildren and we will keep the "tradition" of tracing their hand prints when they get home for their school albums. We have done this since each one started school and I think they enjoy seeing how their hand prints get larger each year. The oldest, Dillon, will be a Junior this year. Brittnee is starting at the high school and Keith moves up to the Middle school (sixth grade) this year leaving Jace, the youngest at the elementary school. Hopefully we will get back into a routine again soon and I will post on a more regular basis.

I want to encourage everyone to Aim high....Dream Large...Because goals can be achieved....and Dreams can come true. We had wanted to meet Mr. Ross Perot for some time AND we were finally able to do just that on August 6th.

In the hall just before we reached his office we encountered two rows of sculptures of children. Several young girls in playful poses...one on her knees reaching out in front of her, two boys fishing (something our grandchildren enjoy doing frequently), one boy with a soccer ball and one with a football. What a tribute to his grandchildren! Later as we were getting out of the elevator we would meet his oldest grandson...I recognized him as the football player. He told us they weren't too crazy about posing for those statues but appreciated them now that they were older. Mr. Perot was waiting for us at the end of the hallway.

We so appreciated that he took time from his busy schedule to spend some time with us as we had wanted to thank him in person for letting us know what he thought of Eddie's book. It means a lot when someone like him takes the time to read your book and personally tell you he enjoyed reading it. We were glad to have that opportunity.

Mr. Perot showed us around his office which is so full of history. We also learned that he has a wonderful sense of humor! He had one of his staff show us around the rest of the building. What a collection of events and history from his life. This was a day we will always remember.

After our visit we continued on our way to San Antonio. We had not been able to make reservations at the hotel on base but decided to check to see if they had a room. When Eddie asked at the desk the gentleman said "we have no rooms".
But Eddie said..."are you sure you don't have just one room?" The lady behind the desk said to give us a room AND we got in! We always prefer staying on base as then we are able to visit with the injured troops and their family members that are staying there. We spend as much time as we can in the family room or outside where many gather. We are so blessed to be able to visit and spend time with those who have served our nation. Eddie gave each one a book and left many in the family room for those we missed.

In the morning we went to the Center for the Intrepid to meet with our Marines and the Marine Corps League members who come every Thursday bringing breakfast! We had time to visit with each of them.

From there we went to the hospital to visit and leave more books. We gave out about 100 on this trip and hope to be able to order more books soon as our supply is getting low. It is amazing how we always seem to have "just enough" to travel and do this for those who have been injured. We feel blessed having the opportunity to visit our military hospitals.

Connie Beesley

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Wounded Warrior Barracks May 2006

After our visit in Washington DC in May of 2006 we drove to Camp LeJeune, NC...but first stopped at Quantico, VA. (Our vehicle just has a way of ALWAYS heading directly towards ANY and ALL Marine bases). As we entered the base book store we were surprised to hear "Hi Eddie". It was Wendy, one of the ladies we had met in March who works in the Semper Fi Injured Marine Fund office. She introduced us to General Mattis who was with retired General Zinnie (He was there signing his book.) As we travel, we are blessed to meet many wonderful and interesting people.

From Quantico, we continued on our way to Camp LeJeune to visit the Wounded Warrior Barracks. The barracks are such a blessing to our injured troops. Eddie would have loved to have had this as a choice when he was injured. Back then, he was not given a chance to stay in the Marine Corps...he tried but was turned down. Today our warriors may stay in to finish their tour and some are even able to re-up and continue their Marine careers. This is especially good for someone like Gunny B....who had 18 months left on a 20 year career. If he had been forced to get out when injured he would not have been entitled to his full 20 year retirement benefits. BUT through this program...he is. The program was the idea of Lt Col Maxwell (you can read about it at http://sempermax.com/ ) We were blessed to meet his wife Shannon Maxwell but would not meet her husband until another visit.

At the Wounded Warrior barracks, the Marines were gathered into one room and Eddie told them a bit about himself. He then began talking with them, answering questions and hearing their stories. We were there for over 4 hours!
They did not want to let him go! They wanted to tell them their stories and had a lot of questions for him about sports, transportation and all of the things that he'd learned about after his injuries.

This was also a good visit for me as I was able to meet with a Marine wife I had met online at Classmates. She and her husband came by the barracks and we had time for a short visit while Eddie was with wounded Marines.

Once we were able to leave the barracks we headed toward the home of someone we had met at one of Eddie's Marine reunions. Captain Dan McMahon had served with Delta 1/4 after Eddie had been injured and left Vietnam. We had a great visit with him and his wife. After spending the night we left the next morning for home. Another wonderful trip! We feel very blessed to be able to visit our injured troops.

Connie Beesley