Flathead shows support for wounded warriors
Bigfork welcomed three injured soldiers and an injured marine last week, after they arrived from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio as part of an outreach program to help them readjust to civilian life called Wounded Warriors.
The three soldiers, MSgt. Dennis Liska, Sgt. Terry Ligman and SPC. Lejenna Willard and marine LCpl. Brandon Pelletier were each wounded in combat while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and sustained serious injuries. Each has spent at least two years undergoing surgeries and rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center, and three of four have at least one more surgery to go.
As part of their rehabilitation, they spent four days in the Flathead, arriving last Monday and returning to San Antonio last Friday.
Among the highlights of their trip, the four servicemen and woman dined at various restaurants in Lakeside, Bigfork and Kalispell, went fishing in Flathead Lake courtesy of Mo Fisch Charters of Lakeside, toured Glacier National Park and the National Bison Range and attended a show at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts.
"It was just absolutely fantastic," Tip Clark, a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General now living in Somers, said. "I'm just so pleased with the way the whole Valley — particularly people in Lakeside — did in welcoming these four heroes of our country. It was a great effort for Lakeside and the rest of the Valley to say, 'Thank you for your service to our country,' and give them something in return."
The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (RRVA)—also known as the River Rats—and the Air Warrior Courage Foundation sponsored the trip. The Wounded Warriors were hosted by the Flathead Chapter of the River Rats, with retired Air Force Colonel Archie Lorentzen providing them with lodging at his guest house on Lake Blaine and serving as their escort around the Valley.
Lorentzen said the San Antonio chapter became involved with the Wounded Warriors early on, helping to provide clothing and other services. They also began a swimming program in San Antonio, since a lot of the patients needed the use of a pool to aid in their recovery.
Eventually, the program evolved and began taking patients to the Gulf of Mexico to snorkel and scuba dive in the ocean. In time, the program branched out to give patients the opportunity to surf and ski, realizing the benefit of such activities in the rehabilitation process.
According to Lorentzen, the Flathead River Rats, with membership of about 30 former airmen, have made an effort for two years to become more involved with the Wounded Warrior program sponsored by the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, feeling that it was time to take on an active role in doing something special for the patients.
Lorentzen said that, unlike other Wounded Warrior programs that help injured servicemen and women, the Air Warrior Courage Foundation never uses money donated to the Wounded Warriors to pay for overhead expenses. As a result, all of the money donated goes to help the Wounded Warriors and none of it is used for any other purpose.
"I can guarantee that every dollar that gets donated will go to the Wounded Warriors," Lorentzen said. "There will not be one penny of it that is spent on overhead. I think that says a lot about our commitment to helping these men and women who have given so much in service to their country."
Flathead veterans and servicemen and women provided the four Wounded Warriors with an official welcome from the City of Kalispell at the Kalispell Elks Lodge Tuesday evening with representation from the Army, Air Force and Marines.
"It was a very warming atmosphere," LCpl. Pelletier said. "This is a great place, and we have met good people every place we go. The people here are wonderful, and we truly appreciate the hospitality the community has shown us. This is my first time in Montana, and I'm definitely going to come back."
Pelletier said the trip provided a mental and emotional break from the stress of physical therapy. That in itself, he said, makes it a kind of therapy for the mind and emotions, which allowed the group to relax a bit and enjoy regular life.
"You never know how their personal lives are when they come up here," Clark said. "But this just can't do anything but help them in their recovery and help to work them back into the regular way of life that we all enjoy."
Gary Baber, the former head of the San Antonio River Rats said he had never seen a happier group of people than the four who returned from their visit to the Flathead.
"The soldiers could not say enough about how much they appreciated the air lift support and the hospitality of the Flathead Valley River Rats," Baber said, adding that one of the four is now talking about moving to Montana permanently when he gets out of the service.
Despite Baber's assertion that the four exhibited the best response of any group on any trip he had seen thus far, Lorentzen said four days just wasn't enough. Noting that the Flathead River Rats would like to bring other groups out in the future, he said he hopes to be able to host such groups for seven or eight days.