Serving the High Plains
link Marine veteran Wesley
Roy Brady Jr., is walking
across the country to
raise awareness for
combat wounded veterans.
Staff Report
On the same day the Great Race passed through Tucumcari, U.S. Marine veteran Wesley Roy Brady Jr. made his way through town on his own cross country trek to raise awareness for combat-wounded veterans.
“I want to raise awareness for an issue that affects all combat veterans and their families across the nation,” Brady said.
Brady said he is making the “Walk for Warriors” from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Camp Pendleton, California, to raise $35,000 to help aid the efforts of the non-profit Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge.
Brady said countless veterans of all generations and branches of service return from service and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. He said there is a real need to counsel and provide services to aid these servicemen and women deal with both physical and mental injuries.
Brady said services like the CWVC help veterans and their families to not just live with but to understand and overcome the difficulties they encounter when they return home from service. He said as a 22-year Marine veteran, he has seen first hand the effect of PTSD and traumatic brain injuries in his fellow servicemen.
“Each day there are veterans that commit suicide because of these conditions,” Brady said. “I’m walking to help raise awareness of how vital the funding for programs that assist combat veterans are.”
Brady said that the servicemen and women of the current era have been fortunate that there has been a diagnosis of PTSD and related conditions in veterans. He said the generations prior to the World War II and Korean War eras did not have the benefit of these services.
“This program is designed for them too, not just for today’s veterans,” Brady said. “My overall goal is to see that all of our veterans are taken care of and receive the treatment they need.”
Brady would also like to use a portion of the money raised by the “Walk for Warriors” to help fund a new CWVC program. He said the money would also be used to start the Adaptive Sailing Boot Camp for novices in Galveston, Texas.
Fifteen combat wounded and injured veterans will learn how to sail a three-man boat (sonars) and compete in a regatta. While at the camp, the group will participate in medical case studies tied to PTSD, brain injuries and prosthetics.
For more information about the Walk for Warriors and the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge, you can check the website: http://www.combatwounded.org.