Boston Red Sox Going To Walter Reed For Heroes

"A couple of guys I remember were 19, 20. They couldn't walk out of there — if they had something to walk on — and go to the local bar and have a beer," Mike Timlin said. "And yet, they've gone across the ocean to a strange land and got blown up, because that's what the country needed. And what makes it even more impressive is that to a man, if they could figure out some way to get a prosthetic on or repair what they've done, they'd go right back.

Fans For A Day
Red Sox To Visit Wounded Soldiers At Walter Reed
By JEFF GOLDBERG | Courant Staff Writer
February 26, 2008

FORT MYERS, Fla. - They still remember the horrible wounds. They remember the remarkable courage.

By the time the Red Sox ended their visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington three years ago — celebrating the 2004 World Series title and helping to boost veterans' spirits — it was impossible to tell which group was more in awe.

"Humbling is a very weak word," Curt Schilling said. "It was profound for me. For me, it was, 'Thank you.' You look them in the eye, take their hand and say, 'Thank you. Thank you.' Make sure they understand you truly mean it.

"You always hear hero or superstar, all those words people use for athletes, then you stand in a room of heroes and superstars. They're double-amputees, 19-, 20-year-old kids, and it's just another perspective-giving event in life that you never ever forget."

There will be another such event Wednesday. Like that day in March 2005, the Red Sox will fly to Washington in the late morning, pose with President Bush and the 2007 World Series trophy at the White House around 3 p.m., then head over to Walter Reed.

The visit to the veterans hospital was the most memorable aspect of that day three years ago.
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