
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard and other volunteers help this wounded soldier out of his wheelchair and into a boat, Saturday (May 16, 2009), during Warrior’s Weekend at Port O’Connor. Photo by Murray Montgomery - ©Lone Star Diary
By Murray Montgomery
©Lone Star Diary
There were plenty of hugs, smiles, and tears Saturday (May 16, 2009) as approximately 200 soldiers from Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio arrived at Froggie’s Bait Camp in Port O’Connor, Texas, to participate in the event known as Warrior’s Weekend.
The soldiers, some accompanied by their families, rolled in on seven charter buses at 9:45 a.m. and were greeted by a large crowd of people who were very vocal in their appreciation for the men and women who serve in our military.
If you are not familiar with Warrior’s Weekend, it is an event where wounded soldiers are brought to Port O’Connor for a day of fun, fishing, and relaxation; while the general public has the unique opportunity of visiting with, and showing their gratitude for those who have made such enormous sacrifices for this nation.
Just like they have for the two previous events, the organizers and volunteers of Warrior’s Weekend brought soldiers in from military installations across the country. Besides those from BAMC, other troops came from Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Campbell, Ky., Fort Riley, Kan., and Walter Reed Hospital.
This was the third year for Warrior’s Weekend and it was an honor for me to have been able to attend two of them. Every year this event gets bigger and in my opinion Saturday’s affair drew the largest crowd ever. I don’t have an official tally of the number of people attending, but my personal opinion is that the participation was at least twice that of last year.
In 2008, we were able to park near Froggie’s Bait Dock. This year, I had to park at the Port O’Connor Community Center and ride a shuttle bus to the dock. School buses provided by the Calhoun County Independent School District shuttled folks back and forth from the community center and Froggie’s throughout the day.
Once again I was amazed at the disgraceful lack of coverage of this event by the news media. I don’t know how big Warrior’s Weekend is going to have to get before some in the media realize that this is indeed a big deal. You can bet that the patriotic American people will see to it that this event continues to grow, with or without the blessings of the liberal-biased media.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of many events that would top the opportunity to thank wounded soldiers.
The organizers of Warrior’s Weekend continue to add family-oriented entertainment and things for the kids to do. This year they had a rock-climbing wall and a fishing tank set up. There was an assortment of items on display, including an M1 tank and various other military vehicles. Several classic cars were also on exhibit. Due to bad weather in Austin, where they are stationed, the helicopters hadn’t arrived as of noon; but I had to leave early so they may have been there later in the day.
As soldiers were boarding the boats to go fishing, the Commemorative Air Force from San Marcos did a fly-over with four vintage planes. To the delight of the crowd, they made three passes. On the last pass they performed a “missing man” maneuver to honor those who have died in combat.
Warrior’s Weekend is a special event and those who attend, come away with a deep sense of pride in the commitment of our soldiers to protect this nation and the resolve of the American people to support them.