“That’s what I’m talking about.”
We have always strongly felt that the resources we need to make the life of our combat wounded veterans a little better are in the community. Cinco de Mayo 2018 is a great example of what’s possible when our community helps us out.
They say a picture paints a thousand words, and these photos tell a beautiful story about when our communities care about our warriors. This story is about the city of Redondo Beach, California,embracing the combat wounded vets of Wounded Heroes of America.
On May 5, 2018, the Redondo Beach Police Department had its inaugural surf contest “The Line Up” and invited us to be part of the event. We were a little apprehensive, as none of our vets knew how to surf, but with the group of experienced surfers and police officers in attendance, no one drowned.
A bunch of our vets came, some brought their families, and we all spent a wonderful day in the water and on the sand. Above all, we felt appreciated. People don’t often realize that our young warriors don’t ask for much besides a “Thank you for your service” every now and then,and the kind of support they experienced from the people and police department of Redondo Beach was definitely appreciated.
We want to thank the Redondo Beach Police Department, Dive &Surf, Body Glove, and all those who made this day possible for us.Most importantly, we want to thank Dinah Lary RBPD Community Services Manager. This event was her brain-child, and we’re very grateful for her invitation to be a part of it.
In addition to solving financial problems for our vets, fellowship is the most enduring service we provide.We insist on enjoying life,which we feel is appropriate considering what these young people have been through.Any time we get an opportunity to mix it up and break bread with the civilian world, we jump at it, even if it means a lot of wiping out on surfboards, which was certainly the case this weekend.Thanks to Dinah, though, we’re now all surfers. Bad surfers, but surfers nonetheless. It was a really fun day, and one we all hope to repeat.
KTLA Channel 5 interviewed many event participants, including WHOA Executive Director Mike Talleda, and USMC Ret. Sgt. Veronica Hernandez, who served two deployments in Iraq. To check out more from that day click here.