Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Barnett | Cale Aronson, of Aronson Racing, talks a wounded warrior through the steps of starting...... read more read more
FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Kansas National Guard-sponsored racers Cale Aronson of Aronson Racing and Staff Sgt. James Hubbard, marketing non-commissioned officer for the Kansas National Guard Retention and Recruiting Battalion of Topeka, Kan., stopped by the Fort Riley Warrior Transition Battalion, June 14, 2011, to thank the wounded warriors for their immense sacrifice.
Aronson races a Ford Boss Mustang and Hubbard, an exhibition racer, rides a 1300 nitrous-powered Suzuki Hayabusa.
Aronson accepted sponsorship with the Kansas National Guard for the American Drag Race League Kansas National Guard Independence Drags V, June 17-18, 2011, at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan.
“I wanted to be sponsored by the Guard for a while,” said Aronson. “It’s something I enjoy, being able to give back. To come out to the race and be with the troops and the soldiers who have done stuff is rewarding to me. It’s something that you can be proud that you’re doing. It’s an organization that you can be proud to be associated with.”
In hopes of encouraging wounded warriors to heal and transition to their next phase in life. Aronson and Hubbard spent one-on-one time with soldiers, letting them sit on/in the car and motorcycle along with explaining the mechanisms to them.
“We just wanted to give them a little thanks for paying the ultimate sacrifice, coming home with an injury from the battle field,” shared Hubbard. “A lot of the soldiers came out and we did a burn off for them, which was fun. I don’t really like doing it, but they gave a little bit more than a regular average soldier does, so I figured we would could do a little bit more for them.”
Soldiers of the Wounded Warrior Battalion also got to sign the American flag on the roof of Aronson’s race car.
“[This helps the wounded warriors] see that there are different things they can do after the military,” said Erika Turner, director of the Soldier Family Assistance Center. “Part of the transition is being able to go to events like this. Depending on the nature of their injury, it can be a very stressful situation to be in a big crowd or around vehicles or motorcycles because they make a lot of noise. So just their ability to see this in their own home environment might make it easier for them to go to a community event and enjoy it.”
The wounded warriors appreciated the time the racers took to come out and do the static display.
“This shows that a lot of people care for us,” said Sgt. Gerry Smith, a wounded warrior with Company B, Warrior Transition Battalion. “They actually help us heal through this process, as we go through this. This motivates us and drives us forward to keep us believing in the fight and not giving up on all our prospects. I am happy to see this here. It means a lot.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2011 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 74080 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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