2013-11-10
Recently, Don De Marino sent the editor of Second Line of Defense Forum, Ed Timperlake the following letter.
The SLD team believes this provides an exciting opportunity to support Wounded Warriors in honor of Veterans for this year’s Veterans Day.
SLD itself will donate $100 to this effort.
We invite our readers to support the effort as well.
The letter follows and outlines the event and the opportunity to support our Veterans.
Dear Ed,
When my Marine son, LCpl Will De Marino, passed away in 2010, you were so kind to remember him in your Forward to the SLD publication “The F-35 Maintenance Revolution”.
He proudly worked on the MV-22 ‘Osprey’ as part of the Aviation Logistics Squadron 26. As you so aptly put it: “It is a combat team. It is the combat pilots and operators, the Marines on the ground and the maintainers who ensure readiness.”
http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/getting-it-right-for-the-battle-hardened-i-pad-generaton/
I know you share my strong belief in supporting all elements of the combat team, and especially your Marines who have been seriously wounded.
That is why I am asking you to announce in Second Line of Defense a program that would give 24 wounded Marines the opportunity to participate in a 10 day ‘riverrun’ on the Colorado river at the Grand Canyon.
The Marines will be coming via the USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment (www.woundedwarriorregiment.org) and the trip is being sponsored by the Grand Canyon River Runners Association (www.gcriverrunners.org) a very lean 501(c).
These river guides are a fantastic bunch with real experience with disabled rafters. The ‘expense’ principally comes from all the equipment, preparation and additional staff needed. The guides are 100% motivated to giving these Marines a great time on the river at one of America’s most majestic sites.
The guy who’s bright idea this is, Lt Col Hank Detering (USMC- Ret), served20 years in the Corps, is on the Board of the GC River Runners Assoc., and is an old friend.
When Hank first wrote me about this idea for the Marines, he mentioned that his daughter was a river guide:
“Two years ago, Susan was the trip leader on a ‘Persons with Disabilities’ trip, and her passengers included a blind man, a paraplegic and a quadriplegic. What they taught her about the river, and about its creeks and side-canyons, was unbelievable. For the passengers, the trip was more than uplifting. All of her passengers said the experience on the river – camping and hiking, negotiating the rapids, the terrain and the elements, overcoming the risks – had made them feel more alive than ever before. The trip changed their lives.”
I can think of nothing more fitting for your readers than to contribute to on this 238th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps!
Best regards.
Don
United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment
Grand Canyon-Colorado River Rafting Trip
An All-Marine Adventure!
Please make a tax-deductible contribution to this worthwhile project!
A retired US Marine Corps board member of the Grand Canyon River Runners Association is spearheading a 10-day river rafting trip for 24 active-duty Marines from the Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment.
This will NOT be a float down the river.
Our Marines will paddle through world-class whitewater, explore side canyons and archaeological sites that are known only to river travelers, make camp each night at the rivers edge, and sleep under the stars.
This trip is about being alive, being active, and abandoning limitations.
The trip of a lifetime for the average American, this adventure may well be a life-changing experience for these disabled veterans who face a long and difficult road to recovery after serving and sacrificing for our country.
Donate on-line, or for mail-in and sponsorship information:
http://www.gcriverrunners.org/pages/USMC_Wounded_Warrior_GC_Rafting_Trip.htm
The Sponsor: The Grand Canyon River Runners Association, http://www.gcriverrunners.org
a 501 (c.) 3 group working to preserve public access to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
The United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment:
http://www.woundedwarriorregiment.org provides and enables assistance to wounded, ill and injured Marines, sailors attached to or in support of Marine units, and their family members in order to assist them as they return to duty or transition to civilian life.
Our Guides: Arizona Raft Adventures:
An authorized concessioner of the National Parks Service in Grand Canyon National Park and a member of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association. AzRA has extensive experience aiding persons with disabilities in rafting the Colorado River and they will provide the boats, the guides, and the special equipment required to make this trip possible.