Photo By Lance Cpl. Janelle Chapman | Steve Jensen, a Navy veteran and Wounded Warrior volunteer chaplain, hangs a Marine...... read more read more
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KAILUA, Hawaii - Pass through a gate with a sign saying, “Gone to Therapy,” and you will see a barge with the name SS Wounded Warrior. The wooden barge floats in the Kailua canal behind the home of Steve Jensen, a Navy veteran and Wounded Warrior
volunteer chaplain.
The barge was built by Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion West - Detachment Hawaii. Jensen had a barge but it was hazardous, so the Marines volunteered to build him a new one. About three Marines worked on the barge regularly while others stopped by and helped occasionally.
They took the barrels from the old barge and began building the new one from scratch. They built the frame and laid wood for the floor. The railings on the barge had to measure low enough to make it underneath the bridge on the canal. The final touch was a wood stain. It was a type of therapy for the Marines, a way to get away from the hardships of previous deployments and everyday stress.
“We call this barge therapy,” Jensen said.
Jensen, who served for 27 years, opens his home to the wounded warriors. He has a refrigerator outside his house with sodas and water, in case Marines decide to take out the barge when he’s not home.
There is even a shower outside for the Marines to rinse off. In his shed he has fishing poles and other various items.
Jensen says some of the Marines come over almost every day. They take out the kayaks, go fishing, barbecue or just sit and relax on the barge.
“It’s nice to just chill and relax,” said Cpl. Aaron Metheringham, 20, a wounded warrior with the detachment, and native of Danville, Ind.
Metheringham was one of the Marines who helped build the barge. He started building the barge when it was already halfway built. He saw his friends were building it and he needed something to do, so he joined them. Every day he was at Jensen’s house, building the barge or tinkering with motors.
“They did a solid job,” Jensen said.
The Marines would buy old, broken motors, fix them up and sell them. The money they made, they used to buy a new motor for the barge.
“It’s perfect,” said Metheringham. “It’s a great thing, but we can always fix it more.”
The work is never done with the barge. The Marines keep it up to par, always cleaning it, and repairing little flaws in it.
There are toy-box like benches on the barge for storage, a banner with the name SS Wounded Warrior on it, a Marine Corps flag that flies high, and other amenities for comfort and accessibility. Jensen has life jackets for children who may ride on the barge.
“We can fit 10 people safely on here, ” Jensen said.
There are always people around the Jensen household. He holds barbecues, or family days as they sometimes call it, every month for the wounded warriors and their families. He welcomes all the Marines in the program, calling them a wounded warrior family.
“It seems like a lot of my military career came together to work with the wounded warriors,” said Jensen.
Jensen works a lot with the wounded warriors. He does counseling sessions and is on many boards and committees trying to help get them the best care.
He says he basically works every day, if not over at the detachment office, at home when they come by.
“He does a lot for us,” said Metheringham about Jensen.
The barge may be done but that doesn’t stop the Marines from stopping by to tweak little things on it or just ride it around.
The barge will always get good use from Jensen and the Marines.
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2013 19:49 |
| Story ID: | 106168 |
| Location: | KAILUA, HI, US |
| Hometown: | DANVILLE, IN, US |
| Hometown: | KAILUA, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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