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    A day in the dirt

    Wheelers for the Wounded

    Photo By Sgt. Marcus Floyd | A jeep participating in the Wheeling for the Wounded event tries to conquer a hill May...... read more read more

    MARBLE FALLS, TX, UNITED STATES

    05.07.2014

    Story by Spc. Marcus Floyd 

    7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

    MARBLE FALLS, Texas — The echo of dirt bikes and four-wheelers are just loud enough to be heard over the roar of 4x4 engines. Drivers shift into low gear, leaving clouds of dust as they race down the rocky trail of a valley in central Texas. Climbing graveled inclines in a 4x4 vehicle may be a typical day for the wheeling community.

    However, when you put a wounded Soldier in the passenger seat, a day of wheeling becomes a day of healing.

    Which is just what happened when more than 200 4x4 enthusiasts gathered in the central Texas back country to take wounded warriors on the rides of their lives.

    “I feel like its part of the treatment process,” said Spc. Austin Weedor, a signal support systems specialist with 1st Battalion Warrior Transition Brigade at Fort Hood. “It’s mentally relaxing and gets your mind off everything that’s going on around you.”

    The Wheelers for the Wounded event is an opportunity for wounded Soldiers to experience a new activity while receiving an escape from the stresses of recovery.

    Wheelers for the Wounded is an annual event started six years ago by a Soldier returning from Iraq.

    “There was a Soldier that came back from Iraq and he wanted to give rides in his Jeep to people with special needs,” said John Collins, the director of Wheelers for the Wounded. “So he fixed his Jeep up and carried special needs Soldiers. He ran out of money and had to go back on active duty, now we carry on for him.”

    The event takes place at Hidden Falls Adventures Park, a 3,000 acre ranch in Marble Falls, Texas.

    Originally, the program started out with six trucks, and now they have more than 200 vehicles all driven by volunteers.

    “It’s just awesome to be able to do, and I hope everybody feels the same way,” said Matthew Aten, a volunteer driver for Wheeler for the Wounded. “It would be rude of me to say I’m just looking for an excuse to wheel.”

    Like many of the volunteers, Aten appreciates the opportunity to help the military anyway he can.

    “I have a severe appreciation for military folks,” said Aten, who requires a wheelchair due to a rare neurological disorder. “I had so many military in my family, and there’s hardly anything I can do for them, but I can help these young guys that are coming back who need some help, a release from their own head and body.”

    Aten, who drives a 1998 Jeep TJ he modified himself, provides an escape for many wounded Soldiers. Soldiers like Weedor, who was hurt during a deployment.

    “I got hurt last year on my deployment to Afghanistan and I happened to hurt my wrist and my back, and I didn’t even realize I was hurt until I got on the bird and we were heading back to the base and then I realized everything was not working the way it was supposed to,” said Weedor. “Sometimes it gets stressful around the barracks with the doctor’s appointments and going to physical therapy, but coming out here gives me the chance to forget some of that stuff and get my mind off of what’s going on in the real world.”

    Although it was his first year participating in Wheelers for the Wounded, Weedor was appreciative of the people providing the service.

    “I’d like to extend appreciation to everyone out here for volunteering their time," said Weedor. “It tells me were not alone, there are people out there who no matter what, no matter how hard it is, there are people willing to reach out and help us out any way they can.”

    Amongst those willing to reach out and help was Tracy Byrd, an American country music artist from Beaumont, Texas.

    "What you guys give to us is immeasurable," said Byrd, who hasn't been on tour since 2009 and volunteered to perform live. "We live in a country that's as free as any country in the world and we have you guys to thank for that. So, when I can do my little part of entertaining to help, I want to do that."

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 05.07.2014
    Date Posted: 05.08.2014 16:25
    Story ID: 129209
    Location: MARBLE FALLS, TX, US

    Web Views: 133
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN