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Come join us May 7th 2009 at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena California for our 3rd Annual Wounded Warrior Golf Tournament. It will be one of the best and most enjoyable ways you can help to support our Wounded Warriors. We are an all volunteer, 501 (C) non profit whose mission is to bring together the community through events such as these to support and honor our Troops. All funds raised or donated go to our Combat Wounded in the form of monthly cash grants. Most importantly, we insist on enjoying ourselves while doing so.
Help us support our troops financially.
2009 Wounded Warrior Golf Tournament |
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In Service to our Country |
| "I think my PTSD goes as far back as East Timor," Jeremy said in one of our many conversations. Jeremy Weissmiller, who recently joined our group, joined the Marine Corps in March of 1998, something he was planning to do for life.
 His first deployment was to Saudi Arabia to help with their military training. While serving in Saudi Arabia, a brutal civil war was raging between Timor and East Timor. The Marines were sent there to protect the America Embassy, one of their many jobs around the world. Jeremy told us what he witnessed there was even more brutal than what he later saw in Iraq or Afghanistan. There was not much heavy weaponry; consequently, many of casualties were sustained in hand to hand combat, up close and personal. The savagery was everywhere and was often inflicted with a cruel and prolonged agony.
When 9-11 happened, he immediately knew we were going to war, and like any good Warrior, he was ready to put all his training to use and fight the righteous fight. His unit, a part of 1st Battalion 1st Marines, was one of the first deployed to Afghanistan, in October 2001. On Christmas day 2001, Jeremy received his first injury. He was unloading ammo from a helicopter when the cargo net broke and a 500 pound crate fell on him. He suffered several broken vertebrae, bladder damage and a host of other injuries as result of that accident. On February 2002 he was medi-vac'ed back to the states where he worked hard to rehabilitate and restore his body and become fit enough to return to the fight. Almost a year to the day after his injury, he was medically released and redeployed, this time to Kuwait.
 On March 17 2003 the FSSG (Force Service Support Group) entered Iraq and with them was Marine Weapons and Battle Instructor Sgt Jeremy Weissmiller. Three weeks in to Iraq he was injured by an IED explosion. When he woke up, he was stateside at Balboa Medical Center. The combination of those two injuries has left Jeremy severely disabled. He is what they refer to as an incomplete paraplegic. He has been rated 100% disabled by the VA. He has endured four back surgeries and countless hours of rehabilitation. He can't walk but a few feet and then only on good days; he is wheelchair bound most of the time. He suffers from sleep apnea, a disorder that requires a machine (CPAP) to force him to breathe in case he stops breathing while sleeping, and most damaging of all are PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury). That's a very short version of Jeremy's story of service and sacrifice for our country.
A major problem with TBI and PTSD is that they aren't easily diagnosed, and often times the symptoms come much later. Many of our guys are being discharged without a proper diagnosis and or proper disability ratings. When the symptoms do finally appear after a passage of time, it is nearly impossible for a person with low concentration or comprehension or severe memory loss to correct these misdiagnoses and ratings, all these and more are symptoms of PTSD and TBI.
This is not a criticism of the VA system, it's just a fact. Our experience with the VA is that they take amazing care of our Warriors. They do miracles from the battlefield to the local hospital, but once in a while, some of our guys fall through the cracks and Jeremy was one of them. It has to do mainly with the bureaucracy of the VA and the fact that some of our wounded vets, as a result of their injuries, don't have the mental capability to deal with complicated paper work.
 The VA is well aware of this now and has begun taking steps, including putting people in place, to address these issues when they are discovered. TBI on this scale is something that the military had not encountered before-at least not at this high rate. 60% of our guys serving in Iraq in a combat role have had some sort of encounter with IEDs (improvised explosive devise). Just the force of the blast, even if no visible physical injuries have occurred, is enough to cause brain injury. When Jeremy first contacted us and told us his situation and what he was going through, my first thought was "That's not Right." He has to travel about an hour and half to the VA in Long Beach CA. (a facility renowned for treating spinal cord injuries) to get the treatment that he needs. This is something he was very willing to do and would do even more if he had the money for gas. When we asked about the TSGLI insurance paid to wounded vets, an amount that, depending on rating could be as high as $100,000.00, he didn't think he would qualify or was not aware of any recent changes in the program. We immediately began to advocate on his behalf. The Network of Volunteers
There is a network of volunteers that gladly and willingly give of their time and money to help guys like Jeremy when their situations are brought into the spot light. Jeremy was just one of those cases- a Marine who served his country over and above the call of duty and yet, at the end of the day, didn't have the gas money to visit the VA hospital that had the expertise to best treat his injuries. We sent out an email simply telling his story. The following day he began to receive calls. Shortly thereafter he received additional travel allowance funds. He received several calls from other groups as well as some higher ups in the VA who took an interest in the case and are now helping with application process for the TSGLI insurance money. We're keeping our fingers crossed because he has been told that it looks good and he may qualify. If so, that will be an earned benefit, albeit very late in coming, but a Godsend to a guy just trying to get gas money to make it to the VA hospital of choice more often. Many people have helped Jeremy before and after we got involved. It would be presumptuous on our part to think that all good things happened because of us; that is simply not true, rather it is a team effort. But for this foundation and its volunteers, the process has been an education. The first lesson is how easy it is for a person suffering from TBI and PTSD to fall through the cracks. The second lesson is that the VA is now aware of this and will act quickly, not necessarily to everyone's satisfaction, but more quickly, if made aware of cases such as Jeremy's. Lastly, that the power of the network of volunteers to make things happen that might not ordinarily have happened if someone didn't stop after hearing a story like this and says " Wait a minute, You gotta to be Kidding!" Our First Contact with USMC Sgt Jeremy Weissmiller
From: Jeremy Weissmiller Subject: Contact Us
Received: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 at 13:24:05
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Comments: Hello,
I was in a meeting to try to establish disabled housing for wounded vets yesterday with SgtMaj Acosta and he informed me of your organization. I would like to learn more? I would like to see if I qualify for help "SgtMaj Acosta stated I did" but would like to find out what forms or information you need? I am 100% permanent and total from the VA and medically retired from the Marine Corps. I would like to see if I could get help with gas so I can get to the VA long beach more so I can reap the benefit. This is a great thing you do and would also like to participate in some of your events.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below is Jeremy, Manny Rivas- blind, Sgt Major Jesse Acosta
also blind, and Felipe Adams spinal cord injury -all friends now all part of our group.
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In addition to rattling a few cages on Jeremy's behalf, he is receiving a few hundred dollars a month the 9-11 HelpAmerica Foundation. We are all very grateful to that core of wonderful volunteers that go to bat for guys like Jeremy every day and say "That's not Right!" I'm sure the VA is too. Making sure our Warriors are treating with dignity and respect is everyone's job... The 9-11HelpAmerica Foundation |
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Why Some Volunteer |
These photos are not about broken glass or baby pictures. That little skinny kid was me in 1958, that was my house and those holes in the wall were made by real bullets.
 In the late 50s there was a very popular revolution in Cuba where I was born. A revolution of the people meant to overthrow a very unpopular Dictator. Much of that war was fought in the Escambray Mountains which ran through the province of Las Villas and was a rebel stronghold and not far from the town where we lived. The rebels would come down from the mountains periodically and attack the towns, primarily government installations.  We lived in a small town, very much third world. My father was very involved in the revolution against the existing dictatorship and was active in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Directly across from our home was a government garrison housing the bulk of the army soldiers controlling the town, so when the rebels overran the area, my father gladly -without much of a choice- let the rebels into our home, from where they stage the final assault to take the town.
What I remember, to this day, is the silence and then the noise, the danger in the air. I remember those long hair bearded men hugging the wall of the buildings as they made their way through the streets. That day, the birds weren't singing and the dogs weren't barking... a very eerie and serious day. The main firefight for the town was at our home. The bullets were small arms as well as 50 caliber from government aircraft. On that day the rebels were victorious.
But like so often happens in those third world conflicts, they couldn't hold the town and the government forces came back that evening with tanks and heavy arms and took back the town. I spent that night hiding under a bed listening to bombs and firefights all night long. I was 7 years old. The next day the government soldiers were looking all over for my father for collaborating with the rebels. They would have killed him on the spot had they found him. With the help of town folks our family was able to make it out of town into rebel territory where we were safe. Shortly thereafter, the government fell and the country was euphoric until the betrayal. It was heartbreaking when Fidel Castro imposed an even more cruel communist dictatorship on a small island of freedom loving people; a dictatorship that survives to this day.
My father made the most painful decision of his life for the good of his family and left the country he loved and fought for. He did this so his children would live in a free country. My father, mother and my three other brothers and sisters left Cuba in 1962 My mother was 8.1/2 months pregnant at the time and gave birth shortly after arriving in Miami to my sister, the first American citizen in the family. We left Cuba with what we were wearing and a few pictures. The only money we were able to take was a few dollars hidden in the heel of my shoe which was about enough for breakfast the next day. In Cuba possession of any American currency would have meant jail. That was how we arrived here in the USA. There was no one to greet us at the airport but the refugee agency in Miami, no money, no family or friends, just the goodness of the American government and its people. Thanks to the First Baptist Church of Alhambra we relocated to Los Angeles and have been living here ever since. The entire family was free and finally safe. That is until September 11th 2001. That day changed everything for me.
After the attacks on September 11th I wanted to do something to help my new Country. Then, and still today, it is inconceivable that someone could do something so vicious to innocent people of a Country that has done so much good for immigrants in general and my family in particular... It was time to help America. We adopted the mantra that "Together We can Make a Difference" and began to see what was possible. That was the impetus of this Foundation. I have found nothing better to do with my time than the privilege to give back, if only a little, to those brave young Warriors who so willingly give their lives and bear unbearable injuries to insure the freedoms for all of us. It is a rare privilege and opportunity to be of service to them. To those that have not had the privilege to know them can hardly imagine the meaning of the word "sacrifice". Even I, who have had the opportunity to be close to many of our Surviving spouses and wounded Warriors have hardly a glimpse of the price they pay daily for all of us. Everyone has their reasons for volunteering; mine is gratitude to America and those that have created it, and those who protect it's freedom and our way of life.
My heroes are my Mother and Father. They are old now. My mother is blind, my father nearly 90, but because of their sacrifice none of their many grandchildren will ever have to know what it's like to lose that which they loved the most, their homeland. Today because of them, we live in America... The land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave. As for me I'm paying back a little bit of a debt. Something that was so freely given to a refugee family, a debt that we will never be able to fully repay
Mike Talleda
President and Founder
The 9-11 HelpAmerica Foundation
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These are but a few of the brave Warriors and their Families that have touched our lives. They have inspired us with their strength, their grace, and their sacrifice in service to our Country.
It is our mission to Honor and recognize that sacrifice.
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