What a wonderful world

I’ve had the honor of watching members of the Wounded Warriors as they were recognized by the community, as they raced bicycles across the state, as they learned how to dive and on Friday I watched as they jumped from a plane.

The Wounded Warriors Project is a program that helps wounded soldiers rehabilitate and transition back in to civilian life. They help soldiers who have suffered life-altering injuries to do all kinds of things like skiing, surfing, hiking, skydiving and all kinds of other things. They also help with family support, PTSD, finances, and other resources.

I met five soldiers last week out of a group of around 30 at Skydive San Marcos. All five suffered amputations of at least one arm or leg. They were the first group to jump from the plane.

Out of the five soldiers in that group I chose to concentrate on these three: Army Sgt. E5 Kyle Neff of Idaho (left), civilian contractor (ret. Army) Bobby Eldridge of Kentucky (center) and Marine Corporal Kenny Kalish of Tomball, TX. Here they are posing for a a quick snap shot:

Kenny Kalish (the one on the right in the above photo) suffered injuries leading to three amputations after stepping on a roadside bomb while on duty with the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan. I was shooting for the Statesman and Kalish is who reporter Ciara O’Rourke chose to feature in her story.

Here are some photos of Kalish as he suited up and took his turn at skydiving.

Bobby Eldridge was in the Army and he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, after his time was finished as a soldier, he returned overseas as a civilian contractor. That’s when he lost the lower portion of both legs. (That’s him at the photo at the top of the post.)

Here’s Eldridge as he suited up and took flight.