Wounded women warriors

Wounded women warriors

A group of veterans, who have collectively spent years together at Walter Reed, were in town on the weekend of June 7.

It is a first of its kind gathering as they are all women - female wounded warriors.

"I retired 5 months ago," said retired Army specialist Danielle Green-Byrd. "I have a functional hook with the harness."

Routine talk when wounded vets get together, but the trio of women are part of a trailblazing group.

For the first time, the adaptive sports foundation along with the wounded warrior disabled sports project - programs working with injured vets to get them back to their active lives, hosted an event just for women.

"I was like, this is great. Where do I sign up? I've been looking forward to this weekend for a couple of months because you don't get an opportunity to talk to the female veterans, wounded warriors," said Green-Byrd.

Knowing the value of shared experiences she hoped to build on the weekend's event for other women. There was plenty of talking along with the golf, canoeing and kayaking.

"For me, personally, I need to go out there and see if I can still do the things I used to do since I've been injured," said retired Army Sergeant First Class Eva Cochran.

The weekend also helped put a female face on the ranks of wounded veterans - as the women explain, their numbers are small and so is the understanding of their unique needs.

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