Marine Amputees Visit And Encourage Boston Marathon Bombing Victims

I heard about something on television the other night that I hadn’t heard or read before and couldn’t help but wonder why I hadn’t heard it.

t sard it.

Apparently, a group of military amputees went to visit amputee victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston area hospitals.

Soldiers from the “Semper Fi Fund,” a veterans group for injured military personnel, came to Boston to meet with about a dozen bombing victims and their families at four different hospitals. They told them about the importance of getting active as soon as possible and setting goals to aim for. The group said they are planning a return visit.

The Semper Fi Fund has raised $74 million over the last decade, and has now set up a Boston Marathon fund for those hurt in the blast. The group helps modify the environment of the injured to help them stay mobile and active, as well as providing support in getting prosthetics and services.

“It’s a small club.  Not a lot of people know what it’s like,” said B.J. Ganem, a former Marine who lost a leg in Iraq in 2004.

These wounded war veterans wanted to let the bombing victims know that their lives were not over simply because they, too, suffered traumatic amputations.  They went to encourage them and to push them toward recovery by being examples.  What an awesome thing to do.

Did I just miss this story?  Was it on national television before?  This is the type of human interest story that should have been widely publicized.  The fact that these war veterans took the time to go help a group of civilians who, like them, lost limbs in much the same way they did shows the character of the group.  The fact that it wasn’t widely publicized seems to show what - a lack of interest….?

God bless this group of wounded warriors and the new amputees they went to support.  I cannot imagine the changes they will have to go through because of it.  But the human spirit is hard to put down if your mind and heart are in the right places in life.  Hopefully they will all recover and live healthy, productive lives, despite their loss.  And even though the world is an evil place and there are evil people who care not for human life – I pray we can one day put an end to terrorism in the world.  The killing of the innocent masses for any specific cause is despicable.  And we, as a country, should always fight against it.