White House Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride

WH Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride
May 01, 2009
Military.comby Bryant Jordan

They numbered 40. Some walked from the White House on legs of alloy and cable, some rolled out in wheel chairs. Some bore wounds unidentifiable by any prosthesis, chair, cane or crutch.

But all had inside them the steel that served themselves and their fellow troops so well on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and which propelled them to take part in an annual Soldier Ride sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project. The event, dubbed the "White House to the Lighthouse" ride because it runs from Washington and Annapolis, raises funds for Wounded Warriors programs.

"These wounded warriors didn't get to choose the direction their lives would take the instant they were injured, but now they choose to prove that life after injury isn't about what you can't do -- it's about what you can," President Barack Obama said. "They choose to keep their faith with the future. They choose to keep fighting for their brothers and sisters and show them that they're not alone.

As of posting time the White House was unable to furnish Military.com with complete names, service branches or unit affiliations of the participants.

The ride is now in its fifth year, and this year's marks the third between Washington and Annapolis.

Obama was accompanied at the podium by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth. Shinseki, who was Army chief of staff until he retired, had been wounded in Vietnam. Duckworth, who was confirmed to her post only recently, was a helicopter pilot who lost both her legs when she was shot down in Iraq.
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WH Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride