July 4th means more to wounded warrior in Tampa

Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX

Boggs, who’s on 100 percent disability, volunteers at Haley and mentors disabled veterans.

Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.

Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.

“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”

Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.

According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.

“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”

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