Courtesy Photo | The flag-covered casket of New York Army National Guard 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert, is...... read more read more
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MAGDALENA, N.M. - Along with taking care of troops, New York Army National Guard 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert had a passion for terrain. When his family bought their New Mexico ranch property, Joe — an avid hunter — enthusiastically led his loved ones on a hike to identify its boundaries.
The ranch is a long way from the Afghanistan province where Joe died in battle, and he never got an opportunity to hunt there. But his mother, stepfather and loved ones have found a way to bridge Joe's passions by transforming their ranch into Strongpoint Theinert, a space for veterans to recover from the trauma of combat.
If Joe were alive, he would be doing something like this for veterans, and creating the space is also part of their recovery process, Chrys Kestler, Joe's mother, explained.
"There are great depths and great breadths of healing to be found in helping others," Chrys said. "I had to pick up Joe's mission and continue." Other soldiers — especially those who were with Joe when he died — also served as inspiration.
Chrys is a critical care nurse, and Joe's stepfather, Army Reserve Col. Frank Kestler, is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Like the rest of Joe's family, they know Joe's life as a soldier — and the circumstances of his death — all too well. Though Joe always dreamed of being a cowboy or soldier, his father was a New York City firefighter, and the 9-11 attacks affected Joe deeply, C recalled.
Joe wanted to help make a difference, so he joined the New York Army National Guard and later volunteered to deploy with the 10th Mountain Division, Chrys said. But no matter which unit Joe belonged to, he always went above and beyond to help soldiers and their families, she added.
On June 4, 2010, Joe was leading his platoon on a dismounted patrol near the town of Arif Kala in the Dand district, which is south of Kandahar City. When the patrol came under fire from a building, Joe took the place of his platoon sergeant and led a team of soldiers to assault the structure, she explained.
The team had to cross a wall to reach the building, Chrys said. Joe followed his troops over a wall and hit an IED, she recalled.
The five soldiers closest to Joe were knocked to the ground in a daze, Chrys said. She read the autopsy report and believes Joe died instantly.
"He took the full force of the blast," she said soberly. "Any one of those guys could have detonated that IED. The blast killed him. Joe died doing just what he wanted to do."
Joe was buried with full military honors on Shelter Island, N.Y., where he was raised, and Joe's family got on with their lives — and continued to mourn his death. With Joe gone, Chrys wondered what the point of the ranch was.
But while Frank was temporarily assigned to Washingon, D.C., they got the chance — which they considered a privilege — to meet with wounded troops in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. But this road, too, led to Joe, and grew into concern for his soldiers. They welcomed the invitation to attend the ceremony held when Joe’s unit returned to Fort Drum, N.Y.
The meeting went well, overall, they recalled. The soldiers remembered Joe, and the events that led to his death.
"They were proud of the way he was leading them," Chris recalled.
But the memories remained intense for most of them, and they were visibly upset, Frank said.
That's when they realized that veterans need a space, among their peers, to recover from the trauma of combat, and conceived the idea for Strongpoint Theinert.
Though medical professionals, chaplains and others will always be part of the healing process, the adaptive will provide veterans a place to talk in the comfort of their fellow veterans, and share stories, Chrys explained.
"That's what this Strongpoint Ranch effort is all about," she said. When complete, Strongpoint Theinert will be handicap accessible, and be able to host up to eight veterans and their escorts, she added.
But they still have a long way to go. With salaries, expenses and building costs, the space will cost between 2.5 and 3 million to get up and running.
But contributions from community organizations, which have held fundraisers and are operating scholarships dedicated to Joe, paid part of the design and planning costs, Chrys said. Members of these organizations — including one who is a Goldstar mother who lost her son in Vietnam — also encouraged her, she added.
"All of them, to a person, said 'get involved, help a veteran, it's part of the healing,'" she recalled. She and Frank said they remain overwhelmed by the generosity of the members of these organizations.
Though she still mourns for Joe at times, she feels he'd "kick her ass" if she despaired, Chrys said.
"It's ambitious, but failure is not an option," she stressed.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 02.15.2013 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 102073 |
| Location: | MAGDALENA, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 328 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family of Fallen New York National Guard Officer Creating Space for Troops, by MSG Raymond Drumsta, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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