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Making Memorial Day Matter: Remember America's Heroes

By TSC Staff

On this Memorial Day weekend, let's remember and pay tribute to all the American heroes who have given their lives for this country.  According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, some 41.8 million men and women have served in uniform in all of America's wars.  Of that number, some 651,000 died in battle and another 538,000 lost their lives in theater and non-theater.

On this weekend, let's also remember that 2.2 million Americans have volunteered to serve our nation in uniform.  More than 1.65 million U.S. service members have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since September 11, 2001.  More than 35,000 service members have been physically wounded.  It is estimated that more than 320,000 have sustained traumatic brain injuries.  More than 300,000 have psychological wounds.

What can we do about it?

The Bob Woodruff Foundation works to support all injured service members with a special emphasis on the Hidden Injuries of War - Traumatic Brain Injury and Combat Stress. While the wounds of these injuries may not always be visible, their impact is felt long after a service member returns and their treatment is often the most costly and difficult to attain.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised over $6 million for injured service members.  In 2008, BWF funded $3.4 million in program spending which is estimated to impact approximately 516,000 service members, veterans, family members, and support personnel.  Through 52 grants to charitable organizations around the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has funded programs to reintegrate injured service members and assist their families with the transition.


 

The following is taken from www.Remind.org:

After Bob Woodruff was nearly killed in an improved explosive device (IED) attack in Iraq, he and his family had an opportunity to get to know so many of our nation’s injured heroes and their families. They realized their unique position to be a voice that could be heard in civilian and military cultures, across political lines and throughout our nation— a voice that would call for tangible support to assist our injured service members and their families. Thus, the Bob Woodruff Foundation was born.

In January of 2008, the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) separated from the Brain Injury Association of America and became an independent 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.

BWF is a national nonprofit that helps ensure our nation’s service members return to a homefront ready to support them. This is accomplished in three key ways:

  1. Through a movement called ReMIND.org — we help educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war… and our nation’s greater responsibility to ensure our heroes and their families receive the support necessary to successfully reintegrate into their communities.

  2. We collaborate with other experts and organizations, at the federal state and local level, to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life.

  3. We invest in national and community-based programs that connect our troops to the help they need — from individual needs like physical accommodations, medical care and counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide.

Together with our partners, supporters, and communities, the Bob Woodruff Foundation is helping heal the physical and psychological wounds of war.  


 

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