July 17 - Fairfax Fire Department BBQ
Fairfax Fire department hosted the third annual wounded warrior barbecue and equipment demonstration in downtown Merrifield (Fairfax), Virginia. With clear skies and high’s in the 90’s, Walter Reed’s Wounded Warriors bounded off their bus and joined in with the Fairfax Fire Department’s Firehouse 30 crew for another great day with the local first responders.
Firehouse 30 responded to the multiple alarms at the Pentagon on 9/11. While the manning crew at the Firehouse today is different from those a decade ago, the linage of service and knowledge remains and many of the WW saw firsthand some of the skills.
The Ladder 30 Team did some great demonstration with the 90 foot ladder climbing into the suburban skies. On the ground, young visitors manned the hoses and targeted several lines of orange emergency cones One by one, the youngsters found the mark and took many cones down.
The barbecue team worked hours before the BBQ was to start and Perdue Chicken was secretly seasoned by the “C-Shift” members. Accompanying the chicken, hotdogs and UTZ snacks with a large assortment of beverages. There was plenty of food for all and fun with the equipment displayed for the wounded warriors.
Some 24 wounded warriors and family members took part in the annual event.
The leadership of Firehouse 30, Captains Kelly and O’Brien organized a great day away from Walter Reed. It was all thumbs up at the end of the day.
July 23 - DC FD Fireboat Event
The atmospheric heat rose to more than 100, soft drinks and bottled water pour out to quench our thrust at this year’s DC FD fireboat event. The Walter Reed’s Wounded Warriors bounded off their van and joined in with the DC FD Fireboat unit barbecue champions and Fireboat John Glenn’s crew for another great day along the DC marina.
The DC FD fireboat crewmen cooked up some great hot dogs, burgers and Perdue Farms chicken. Perhaps the award for outstanding cuisine should go to the crewmen that prepared of the day’s event, both chef’s and food servers. Some 28 wounded warriors and family members took part in the annual event off Maine Avenue in DC.
The John Glenn, the largest fireboat in the tri-state area, cruised down to Reagan National Airport among other cruise ships and a square rigger. With the wounded warriors on the trip, the service members had a chance to “blast away” with the heavy duty water cannons, however did not hit anything and that was good.
The fireboat event, the last from Walter Reed campus off Georgia Ave to the waterfront, the WW returned and began to be moved out to other Military hospitals and Veterans Administration Centers.
An Enduring Pride spokesman noted, “What our DC Firefighters did today for our combat wounded is to bring them beyond the professional healthcare procedures in the “total healing cycle” and mental adjustment to the greater civilian community”. He added, “The firefighters and wounded alike enjoyed the event and the day. Today and the outreach by the firefighters of DC is what the total healing process is all about”.
