Hope for
the Warriors™ - Wounded Warriors and NCSU Football
Saturday, September 15, 2007 was a spectacular day for
the Wounded Warriors from Camp Lejeune, a day they will
never forget! It started off at about 1:30 pm from Camp
Lejeune en route to the Carter-Finley Stadium in
Raleigh. The bus was equipped with a DVD player so the
Warriors had the excitement of watching the movie
“Desperado” on the way to the game. (There was so much
shooting in the movie that I thought several times that
the bus was under attack.)
The
bus arrived at the Centennial Campus of NCSU where we
welcomed aboard the 15 Wounded Warriors from Fort Bragg
who traveled with us from that point to the Stadium.
Two police cars arrived shortly thereafter and escorted
the bus through two-three miles of heavy traffic to the
Stadium.
Upon
arrival at the North Entrance of the Stadium, the bus
door opened and the Warriors were greeted as they walked
from the bus to the Stadium entrance, with the NCSU
Marching Band, Cheerleaders and tons of fans who cheered
and applauded the Warriors. The Band played the NCSU
fight song as the Warriors proceeded through the tunnel
of band members, cheerleaders and fans to the entrance
of the stadium. From that point they were escorted by
Army Cadets and Navy Midshipmen to special seats in the
Stadium. Throughout the game the Cadets and Midshipmen
attended to the needs of the Warriors by providing them
with drinks and food.
Prior to game time, The Army Black Dagger parachute team
descended from about 2000 feet to the playing field.
This was followed by an Air Force C-17 Globe master
flyover.
Cpl.
Michael Savoie, USMC, had been previously selected for
the coin toss where he stood with the Chancellor of the
University and a U. S. Army General. At the coin toss,
his bio in which he had two purple hearts (he turned
down three others), from two deployments in Iraq, was
heard by the fans on the PA system. There was tremendous
applause for Cpl. Savoie who joined the other Warriors
after the coin toss.
At
the first break of the 3rd quarter of the
game, the Warriors, (Marines and Army Soldiers), were
invited to the playing field where they were again
honored by the 57,000 + cheering and applauding fans in
the stadium. On the way back to their seats in the
stadium they had to walk up stairs to their seats. All
along with stairway, fans applauded them, shook their
hand and thanked them for the sacrifices they had made
for America.
As
the game ended the Warriors were escorted back to the
bus that was waiting for them at the North Entrance of
the Stadium. Traveling back to Camp Lejeune, it was
sleep time for our brave Warriors.
As a
personal note, from the planning of the event, I knew it
would be a big day for the Wounded Warriors. However,
this day exceeded all expectations! There was no doubt
that Americans do care and appreciate the sacrifices
these brave men have made to keep our county free!
Semper Fi,
Frank Grant
