Help Give Back to Those Who have Given Like - Ed Salau
"My traumatic, life-changing injury could have easily influenced me
into a life of bitterness; however, overcoming obstacles, like a
mountain, have served as opportunities to realize I am still "me", no
less. Camp Patriot has not only provided the trip, but more
importantly, you have demonstrated leadership - a leadership that
warriors follow... From the front. Camp Patriot demonstrates that
supporting the troops is more than placing a bumper sticker on a car.
It is understanding an important tenant of the warrior ethos: "I will
never leave a fallen comrade." I followed two warriors up that
mountain, an able-bodied one and a visually impaired one. I followed
them because they led me up that hill. Captain Scott Smiley, blinded in
combat, demonstrated another tenant of that warrior ethos: "I will
never quit." It was easy to follow that man because he was leading by
example (and he was faster than me). I am certain I would have never
climbed that mountain, and ultimately achieving the goal would have
been unlikely had Captain Smiley not been there that week. Camp Patriot
orchestrated it, and I needed it. I am so proud of myself for getting
as far as I did, and that is one of those accomplishments in my life by
which I measure the true difficulty of new tasks. If I can do that, I
can do anything. Thanks! Thanks for what you are doing."- www.CampPatriot.org
