Photo By Sgt. 1st Class John Carkeet IV | Sgt. Maj. Monte Waller (second from left), the senior noncommissioned officer for the...... read more read more
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SEBASTIAN, Fla. – Anyone who visited Capt. Hiram’s beach resort Dec. 14 in Sebastian, Fla., would have likely believed that an unearthly force had hurled him back to 1986.
Live music from the decade’s most iconic heavy metal bands ignited an atmosphere fueled by strobe lights, theater smoke and kilowatt speakers. Servers balancing a dozen beverages on trays bustled between head banging fans and camera toting journalists as they surged their way toward the edge of the bandstand in hopes of capturing - and perhaps consuming - the perfect shot.
Just beyond the illuminated stage and lively crowd sat an elderly woman, her short silver hair standing in stark contrast against her red shirt and black bracelet.
In front of her rested a fold-out table adorned in American flags that fluttered in the gentle sea breeze. A gray bucket with a small rectangular hole cut out of a plastic lid resided at the center of the table.
Flyers taped to the bucket explained the patriotic setup with a single phrase: “Donations for the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation.”
The money in the bucket supplemented a deluge of donations from the ticket booth, for every penny from the “Rock’n for Our Heroes” concert benefited this philanthropic program that supports wounded service members who once defended America as explosive ordinance disposal technicians.
“The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation doesn’t just take care of the soldiers but their families too,” said Gary L. Eavey, chief promoter for “Rock’n for Our Heroes.” “(The foundation) helps families better understand what a soldier goes through when he transitions from deployment and gives them resources to make the adjustment easier for everyone.”
As a former soldier who completed his career as a motor transportation specialist for the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Eavey reached out to his comrades at the 143rd ESC to promote the show and personally speak to the bands and their fans.
The unit answered the call by spreading the word via Facebook and providing a pair of prominent representatives to speak on behalf of the Army Reserve: Sgt. Maj. Monte Waller, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 143rd ESC’s support operations section, and Col. Edith Greene, commander of the 642nd Regional Sustainment Command based in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and I wasn’t going to turn it down,” said Waller. “It was an honor to shake hands with the bands then walk on stage and personally thank the fans for their generosity.”
Several hours before the performers took their places on the Grand Sand Bandstand, the three bands - The Wicked Garden Gnomes, The Trans Ams and Great White - hosted a press conference at The Inn at Capt. Hiram’s. Here, the men that would soon bang drums, strum guitars and sing lyrics shared their thoughts about the concert’s somber cause.
“Sometimes people just go through the motions of life and don’t stop to think about what thousands of people have done thousands of miles away to keep them safe,” said Mark Kendall, a guitarist for Great White. “We hope ‘Rock’n for our Heroes’ will remind our fans of the sacrifices our Soldiers have made, especially after 9/11.”
Great White’s vocalist Terry Ilous expressed the bands’ respect for those service members who bled to detect, diffuse and dismantle explosive ordinance.
“This concert will shed some light on what our wounded (EOD) warriors have done,” said Ilous. “Their whole lives changed the moment they lost a limb, and it’s only right that we support them the same way they preserved our way of life.”
Shorty after the press conference, Waller and Eavey stepped onstage to welcome the gathering crowd. Cheers rose around the two men as they threw souvenir shirts and hats into a mass of outstretched arms.
“Thank you for coming out and supporting the wounded EOD warriors,” boomed Waller. “It’s a privilege to do this, and it’s my privilege to tell you that we’re starting to bring our troops home so ...”
The roaring crowd drowned out Waller’s words.
The show started in earnest when guitarist Steve Murray played Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” The Wicked Garden Gnomes and the Trans Ams followed Murray’s homage to Hendrix and played songs made popular by Aerosmith, Metallica and Mötley Crüe.
Eavey also gave Greene a couple minutes to thank the audience for their support and asked everyone present for a moment of silence in respect for the 20 children and six adults killed during the shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Sandy Hook, Conn.
As headliner Great White stormed the stage and played the very songs that brought it to international stardom in the 1980s, Eavey and Greene reflected on the night’s festivities.
“Our motto is ‘be loud and proud,’ and what better way to get your message out there than at a rock concert?” asked Eavey. “We’re already lined up to do this event again next year, and the crowds and performers will only get bigger."
“Tonight we reached an audience we don’t normally interact with,” Greene observed. “We got to tell our story to people who only get glimpses of us on television, and they showed us that they wholeheartedly support the military even though they may have never before met a person in uniform.”
Waller believes the night’s excitement will extend beyond those who “danced the night away.”
“There’s so much that communities can do to help their wounded warriors,” said Waller. “If people see that soldiers are actively supporting them, then they too will get involved in fundraisers like this one.”
The members of Great White, who had spent their own money to promote the concert and donated $500 to the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation, believe their music would help validate Waller’s theory.
“We should never leave a soldier behind, whether he or she is ‘over there’ or ‘over here,’" said Kendall. “We hope our music reminds our wounded warriors of something or someone that makes them feel good.”
| Date Taken: | 12.14.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2013 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 100200 |
| Location: | SEBASTIAN, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 357 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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