Showing posts with label Tampa FL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tampa FL. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

He Didn't Serve With the Living, But Honors the Dead

‘The Good Cemeterian’: Man Honors Veterans by Cleaning Headstones
NBC News
by PHIL MCCAUSLAND and KERRY SANDERS
May 29, 2017
"I feel connected to them," Lumish said. "And it's very important for me to be able to tell their story and I love to be able to show these individuals and show their accomplishments."
Andrew Lumish cleans the headstones of fallen soldiers.
One Florida man has taken it upon himself to help restore a Tampa graveyard and its veterans' headstones.

Though he has never served in the military, Andrew Lumish, 46, spends his little free time scrubbing and cleaning soldiers' gravestones — some dating back to the Civil War — in the L'Unione Italiana Cemetery.

Known as "The Good Cemeterian," Lumish found the headstones while pursuing his passion for photography. He thought they were beautiful but was bothered by the amount of dirt, mold and mildew that had overtaken them. Some of the men buried there did not have families to take care of their gravesites, so he stepped in to provide a little elbow grease and honor the fallen veterans.
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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Tampa Homeless Veterans Relocated After Invasion of Bedbugs

Veterans moved out after bedbug infestation hits Tampa homeless shelter 
Tampa Bay Times 
Howard Altman Times Staff Writer 
Tuesday, May 16, 2017

TAMPA — Nearly three dozen veterans staying at a north Tampa homeless shelter have been temporarily moved to other facilities because of a bedbug infestation, according to the shelter and Department of Veterans Affairs officials.
The outbreak was discovered May 9, according to Ed Drohan, a spokesman for the James A. Haley VA Medical Center, which has a contract with the New Beginnings of Tampa charity to house 33 veterans at 1402 E Chilkoot Ave.
Hospital staff worked with New Beginnings to relocate all the veterans who wanted other local accommodations, Drohan said. A few have elected to stay at the shelter. Relocated residents' clothing and other possessions were treated to prevent pests from being transferred to the other facilities.
The veterans who were moved should start returning Wednesday, according to Tom Atchison, founder and chief executive of New Beginnings.
The decision to move the veterans was made by Haley leadership as soon as they became aware of the scope of the problem, Drohan said.
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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Blind Veteran Takes Aim in Shooting Competition--Hits Target

St. Petersburg Blind Veteran Competing in Shooting Competition
ABC News
Nicole Grigg
Nov 18, 2016
“No matter how bad it gets, you can always remember a time when it was worse.” Michael Jernigan

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It only took a split second for Marine Veteran Michael Jernigan to find his target 50 feet down the range.

“I was just shooting a target, with an AR-15,” he uttered.


Jernigan, blind in both eyes, was able to hit his target with the help of a spotter on the very first shot.

The Iraq War Veteran served in 2004, when he was hit by an IED.

Jernigan lost both eyes along with his frontal cranium — he was hospitalized for more than a year, before extensive therapy.

After years of looking for healing, Jernigan met other blind veterans and began hunting with a non-profit organization based out of Tampa, Black Dagger Military Hunt Club .

Black Dagger Hunt Club provides shooting, hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities for veterans and active duty military veterans.

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Saturday, November 5, 2016

Iraq Veteran's Day Will No Longer Be A Homeless One

Veteran and family gifted new house
FOX 13 News
Kelly Cowan
November 4, 2016
Guevara Ruiz was part of the first wave of soldiers sent to Iraq in 2003. He served 12 years in the army before being medically discharged. Suffering from PTSD and anxiety, he and his family struggled for years and were at times homeless.
TAMPA (FOX 13) - From homeless, to homeowner: with Veteran's Day just around the corner, a Bay Area vet and his family are moving into their very first home. Friday morning the dream of home ownership came true for Iraq War veteran Manny Guevara Ruiz and his family.
"It's something that never dawned on me that could happen to us," said Manny, who for nine years has moved his family from place to place, at times relying on the kindness of friends and family for a place to stay.
"Knowing that this is ours and we won't have to worry about being homeless again is very surreal, it's very humbling," said wife Erica Guevara Ruiz.
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Friday, September 9, 2016

Man Arrested For Beating Veteran With His Own Walker!

Arrest Made in Elderly Veteran's Beating
Breaking: Police say a man was arrested in Tampa on charges related to the beating of a St. Pete man with his own walker.
St. Pete Patch
By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff)
September 8, 2016

St. Petersburg Police received two separate donations of $600 to help Hardeman during recovery. An anonymous donor also reportedly provided Hardeman with a new walker to replace the one involved in the attack.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The search for a man accused of beating an elderly St. Petersburg veteran with his own walker ended in Tampa Thursday.

According to St. Petersburg Police, officers brought Harold Stewart, 37, into custody and also located the Dodge Durango connected to a Sept. 2 attack.

During that attack, Stewart is accused of approaching Jeffery Hardeman, 66, as he neared the entrance to the 201 34th St. N. Walmart in St. Petersburg around 1 p.m. Police say Hardeman, a disabled Army veteran, was using a walker at the time.

According to authorities, Stewart asked Hardeman for the time. “The younger man then put the elderly man in a choke hold, threw the elderly man to the ground and began punching him,” an earlier email from the police department said. “The younger man also used the elderly man's walker to proceed to beat the elderly man.”
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Friday, July 22, 2016

WWII Veteran Banged Up During Ride to VA

90-year-old Veteran injured in Medicaid funded wheelchair van ride
I-Team: Transport company has troubling past
ABC Action News
Adam Walser
July 21, 2016

“His arm was bloodied and he had a lump on his head from a blow to the head,” said Schaer. “My father's on blood thinners, so I know a blow to the head like that could kill him.”
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Blood, a bump on the head and dehydration were the result of a wheel chair van ride Vernon Johnson recently took home from his doctor's appointment.

Your tax dollars paid for that ride, but the company that gave it has had other trouble in the past.

In 90 years Jacobson has had plenty of close calls , starting with D-Day.

As a young Coast Guardsman, he drove troops to shore on a barge.

But it’s his latest close call that had the potential to do the most damage.

“The wheels must have left the ground,” he said, describing the wild ride.
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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Marine Laid To Rest Three Months After Being Left to Die

St. Petersburg Marine given proper burial, 3 months after death
WFLA News 8
By Jamel Lanee'
Published: June 23, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – Thunderstorms prevented the proper burial of a Marine who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Tampa.

On Thursday, Private First Class Lagarian Sharkey was given the burial he deserved.

It comes three months after his death. Family could not lay him to rest at Bay Pines National Cemetery because of heavy rain.

“I was a bit sad, but I wanted it to be done properly. So today, that’s why we’re here now,” said his mother, Chavon Sharkey.

Vincent and Chavon said their son was the victim of a hit and run. His case remain unsolved.

“No word of who hit him or as to exactly what happened,” said Chavon Sharkey. “So I’m looking for answers to find out what happened that night. If anyone saw anything or heard anything, We want them to come forth and help us.”
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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Tampa Veterans Help Train Rangers in South Africa

US Military Vets to Train Wildlife Rangers in South Africa
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Christopher Torchia
JOHANNESBURG — Jun 21, 2016

Tate and Peaton are both 31 and from Tampa, Florida. Peaton said he has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and that working with Vetpaw provides a sense of purpose.
A group of American military veterans with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan plans to train rangers at some private wildlife areas in South Africa, where poachers have killed large numbers of rhinos for their horns.

The small conservation group called Vetpaw previously operated in Tanzania, which ordered the group to leave last year, partly because of a video in which a member talked about killing poachers.

Ryan Tate, a former U.S. Marine and head of Vetpaw, said Tuesday that the member didn't speak for Vetpaw and that he has sought to "rebrand" the organization.

Tate and Shea Peaton, a U.S. Navy veteran, have spent about a month in South Africa, assessing security needs in several wildlife parks. Training will include marksmanship, field medicine and maneuvering at night, Tate said.

"People are desperate and want to try anything and everything that they can," he said, referring to operators of private wildlife areas that lack the resources that some state-run parks receive.
read more here

VETPAW provides meaningful employment to post-9/11 veterans, utilizing their expertise to train and support Africa’s anti-poaching rangers to prevent the extermination of keystone African wildlife, and the disastrous economic and environmental impact it would have.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Cpl-Gunny Vietnam Veteran Decade of Deception Ends

Marine veteran wounded in Vietnam embellishes rank, medals earned
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
June 10, 2016

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Wayne Ridgley is the center of attention during a Memorial Day ceremony on May 30 in Tampa. Ridgley wears ribbons that he did not earn and the stripes of a gunnery sergeant.
CHRIS URSO/TAMPA BAY TIMES
TAMPA — As he has for the last decade, the old Marine stood ramrod straight at the Memorial Day ceremony, a gunnery sergeant's stripes on the sleeves of his dress blue uniform, rows of ribbons on his chest signaling a host of medals for heroism in combat.

He brought his arm up in a slow salute as men and women attending the ceremony at American Legion USS Tampa Post 5 walked toward him carrying wreaths to honor those who died in war. The veterans saluted back. The civilians looked on with admiration.

But under a canopy, one veteran seethed.

"He's not a Gunny," said Gerard Abbett, using military slang for the rank on the Marine's sleeve. "He didn't receive any Silver Stars."

Abbett, who was wounded in Vietnam and received two Purple Heart medals, was right.

A check of his military records shows Wayne Ridgley, 68, never was a gunnery sergeant, never received any Silver Stars, and served only 14 months — not long enough to earn the 20 years worth of hash marks on his sleeve.

He is, however, a war hero. He lost a leg in Vietnam, received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with a V device for Valor, and was medically retired as a corporal.


Confronted with his real military record, Ridgley acknowledged his misrepresentation to the Tampa Bay Times, saying he did it to make himself and others feel that he was more important. He said he knew he would get caught someday. He said he won't do it again.

"I was enjoying it," Ridgley said. "It felt like I was somebody and I did it for a long time. I got a crazy notion in my head that maybe if I carried myself like this, I'd feel like a strong guy. One of the best ranks in the corps is gunnery sergeant. I lost it and kind of went looney over it."
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Sunday, June 5, 2016

News Investigation Gets Justice for Camp Lejeune Marine

TV news investigation prompts action on Camp Lejeune poison water VA claim
WJHL News

By Mark Douglas
Published: June 2, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Bob Miranda-Boulay says he suffers from 16 medical conditions brought about by toxic water he drank at Camp Lejeune while training as a recruit in the Marine reserves 21 years ago.

Now, after three years of waiting and medical claim denials by the VA Boulay has a glimmer of hope, thanks to an 8 on Your Side investigation that caught the attention of VA claims managers in Louisville, Kentucky. They arranged for a Skype hearing at the VA Service Center at Bay Pines Friday. “If it wasn’t for you doing the story I wouldn’t be here today,” said Boulay after the hearing.

Boulay’s attorneys say out of the blue they received a call from a VA hearing officer about a week after we reported on Boulay’s inability to get assistance from the VA. The story had been re-broadcast by other Media General TV stations and was linked on a number of websites catering to veterans.
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Saturday, June 4, 2016

Veterans Court Judge Reprimanded For Fight Too Hard For Green Beret?

Hillsborough judge agrees to reprimand for going 'too far' on defendant's behalf
Tampa Bay Times

Anna M. Phillips
Times Staff Writer
Friday, June 3, 2016

TAMPA — Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory P. Holder, who intervened in the case of a former U.S. Army Green Beret charged with multiple felonies, has agreed to be publicly reprimanded for trying to persuade prosecutors to change the man's sentence.

In a deal reached with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, which oversees judges across the state, Holder acknowledged that he "went too far" in his attempts to lighten the man's punishment, creating "the appearance of impropriety and partiality."

In addition to being publicly reprimanded by the Florida Supreme Court, he will have to complete six hours of training "on topics related to ethics," if the Florida Supreme Court accepts the commission's recommendation of discipline.

Holder did not respond to requests for comment, but his attorney, David Weinstein, said he was disappointed the commission had filed the charges against the judge in the first place.

"From my perspective, the JQC's action was not based on what Judge Holder was trying to accomplish or why but, instead, how he went about it," Weinstein said.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

VA treats PTSD better than the private sector

Just a simple fact: The VA started all the research on PTSD, so you'd think they would be better prepared than the private sector. They have simply been doing it a lot longer. Veterans do not believe the private sector understands them at all.
Study finds that VA treats PTSD better than the private sector
Tampa Bay Times
By Les Neuhaus, Times Correspondent
May 30, 2016

"It either points to how good of a job the VA is doing or how bad of a job the private sector is doing."
Dr. Katherine Watkins
SEMINOLE — On May 10, 1967, U.S. Marine Corps infantryman John Paul was seriously wounded during a battle in South Vietnam's A Shau Valley near the North Vietnamese border.

"When I got hit, I was standing up,'' Paul, 67, recalled during a recent interview. "I was shot twice in the abdomen and left hip. … I thought I bought the farm."

He spent six months in a series of hospitals, and when he was discharged from the Marines, his limp was not his only reminder of his brush with death.

"I was a mess for years," he said, adding that he drank heavily to medicate the mixed feelings he had about the war.

In 1991, he started getting help for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center at Bay Pines. A recent study published online in a journal produced by the American Psychiatric Association indicates he made a good choice.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Tampa Veteran Can't Get VA To Pay Bill After Being Forced to Make Choice

Army veteran says she can't get the VA to pay for treatment related to disability Getting the VA to pay takes a year
ABC Action News
Jackie Callaway
May 24, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. - The choice card gives veterans who have been waiting more than 30 days for appointments or who live more than 40 miles from a VA facility the chance to see a private doctor.

For Army veteran Anna Harper a mix up on the VA's part nearly cost her her good credit.

Harper suffered multiple injuries during her training at Fort Hood, a service-connected disability that is covered by the VA.

Harper’s choice card enabled her to get X-rays at a local private facility versus driving an hour to the James A. Haley Hospital in Tampa.

The VA, not Harper, was responsible for the $400 bill. Still the doctor’s office sent her bills for upwards of a year because the VA never paid.

read more here

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Florida Army Vet and former Sheriff’s Deputy Comes Out of Coma---Wanted Taco Bell

This Week in Taco Bell: Army vet miraculously wakes from 48-day coma and demands Taco Bell
USA Today
For The Win
By: Ted Berg
May 12, 2016

He struggled to speak — and still struggles to speak — due to the lingering effects of intubation and a tracheotomy, but as soon as he could form sounds into words, he made a request. “I want Taco Bell,”
This Week in Taco Bell is For the Win’s weekly roundup of Taco Bell news and the internet’s foremost source of aggregated Taco Bell content.

In February, Jake Booth, a 35-year-old Army vet and former Sheriff’s deputy in Collier County, Fla., came down with a case of bronchitis. Antibiotics helped, but after Booth quit taking his pills a few days early, the bronchitis turned into double pnemonia. While hospitalized for treatment, Booth suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma. He had to be airlifted to Tampa General Hospital for more extensive treatment. His family did not know if he would ever wake up, or how much damage his brain endured from a loss of oxygen.

It would be 22 more days before Booth could eat solid food, a total of 70 days between real meals. But just last week, one day after doctors cleared him to eat, Jake got his wish in the form of 8 1/2 Crunchy Tacos. The photo, shared by Tyler Chronister — the same friend at Booth’s bedside when he made the Taco Bell request — is one of the most beautiful, redeeming, joyful images that will ever grace these pages:
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Iraq Veteran Gets New Van After Being Told He'd Never Walk or Talk Again

Wounded veteran receives new minivan from nonprofit, Tampa company
Bay News 9
By Cait McVey, Reporter
May 13, 2016

It took a year and a half of recovery in the hospital before he could go home. Still, Joel said he never gave up. “One mountain at a time,” Ret. Army Staff Sgt. Joel Tavera
Tampa-based MobilityWorks and national nonprofit Help Our Military Heroes (HOMH) donated a customized minivan to Iraq veteran Staff Sgt. Joel Tavera, U.S. Army (ret.) and his family.
TAMPA
A Tampa-area Army veteran and survivor of a rocket attack in Iraq in 2008 can enjoy a little more mobility and freedom, thanks to the efforts of national non-profit Help our Military Heroes.

Army Staff Sgt. Joel Tavera, U.S. Army (ret.) was critically wounded on what was to be his final mission in Iraq in 2008 Tavera and his family presented with a new minivan adapted to his needs by Help our Military Heroes (HOMH) and MobilityWorks When Joel Tavera walks into a room, you take notice. He is a man who has overcome a great deal in 28 short years.

“There’s been a lot of barriers given to me,” Tavera said. “I was told I was not going to walk, not going to talk.”

In 2008, the Army veteran was on his final mission in Iraq when a rocket hit the SUV he and his unit were riding in. The attack left Tavera blind and severely burned over more than half his body. He also lost a leg, part of his skull and several fingers.

It took a year and a half of recovery in the hospital before he could go home. Still, Joel said he never gave up.

“One mountain at a time,” Tavera said.

Now, more than 100 surgeries later, Tavera is more active than ever. He enjoys golfing, hunting and even sky diving.
read more here

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Welcome Home Last Patrol Remembrance From Rolling Thunder

‘Welcome Home’ event aimed at saluting Vietnam veterans
Tampa Tribune
Linda Chion Kenney
Special Correspondent
April 20, 2016

“We don’t make the policies,” he said. “We don’t make those decisions. We follow the orders we’re given. We perform our duties. We perform our duties and serve with honor.”
U.S. Navy commander and Vietnam veteran Bradley E. Smith Ex-POW
After “The Last Patrol” performance by Rolling Thunder, members, from left, Mike Vitel, Doc Watson and Bill Marion pose by a Vietnam-era helicopter at the Vietnam Memorial at Hillsborough County’s Veterans Memorial Park. LINDA CHION KENNEY
TAMPA — Soldiers seasoned and battle-scarred, and the people who support them, stood in solidarity and solemnity March 26 at Veterans Memorial Park, where “welcome home” was the order of the day for the men and women called to service in the Vietnam War era.

In her very personal remarks, chaplain Linda J. Pugsley, a retired lieutenant colonel, who volunteered for two tours of duty in Vietnam as an aeromedical evacuation nurse, recounted the “soaking, soaking rains” and the “scorching, scorching heat” of Vietnam.

“We are valiant people who served with unswerving bravery in that hostile, unfriendly, ungodly Vietnam,” said Pugsley, who in 1978 resigned her position as flight nurse with the rank of major, to pursue her career in the ministry. “We served our country and our fellow warriors in that most brutal and unwise war. Some of us saw mayhem that none of us should have seen, yet we did not run.”

Vietnam veterans are heroes, she added, deserving of appreciation for “what they did and all that they gave up.”
read more here

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Blown Up in Afghanistan--Identity Stolen At Haley VA Hospital

Woman indicted, accused of stealing the identity of Afghanistan war veteran
Tampa Bay Times

By Sara DiNatale, Times Staff Writer
Friday, April 1, 2016

Prince is also accused of filing false tax returns using the identities of four other victims, totaling more than $33,000, according to court records.
TAMPA — The day Army 1st Lt. Ryan Timoney arrived at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center, he was still recovering from a suicide bomber's blast in Afghanistan.

That same day in June 2012, Timoney's name, birth date and Social Security number were traded for crack cocaine.

David Lewis, the VA worker who gave up the personal information to feed his drug habit, has already been sentenced to six years in prison. Now, 31-year-old Nejah Prince is facing an indictment in federal court alleging aggravated identity theft and filing false tax returns, according to records filed Thursday.

Timoney, who had part of his leg amputated, first noticed something was amiss when he was mailed a receipt for a TV bought in his name.

According to the court filings, Prince used a Montgomery Ward credit card to buy a plasma screen television and cookware set for nearly $1,400 in February 2013. The credit card, the documents said, were in the name of someone with the initials "R.T."
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Saturday, March 19, 2016

Senate Confirms Two Generals Heading MacDill Air Force Base

Senate confirms Army generals for key military posts
Associated Press
By Richard Lardner
Published: March 18, 2016

WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's choices to lead two of the military's most important warfighting commands.

Gen. Joseph L. Votel and Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Thomas III attend a Senate hearing on March 9, 2016. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP
Senators late Thursday approved the nominations of Army Gen. Joseph Votel to run U.S. Central Command and Gen. Tony Thomas to take over as the top officer at U.S. Special Operations Command. Both commands are headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Operation Love Letters At Tampa Veterans Memorial Park

Families to honor fallen military in Tampa during Operation Love Letters
Tampa Tribune
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: February 12, 2016
“The event provides an atmosphere to create new relationships with other surviving families,” Giddens said. “It is a chance to gain spiritual insight and resilience, and to interact with the Army Reserve community.”
For Yolanda Mercado, the pain of losing her son while he was deployed in Afghanistan more than four years ago is still raw.

That’s why she is looking forward to Operation Love Letters, a commemoration of Americans who died while in service to the country that is being held for the first time in Tampa on Saturday.

“It is important to me because it is to honor our loved ones,” said Mercado, whose son, Army Pvt. Jalfred D. Vaquerano, was 20 when he died from his wounds in December 2011 after being shot in Logar province. “It’s a day to remember the good times we had with them and share it with others.”

Operation Love Letters was created to bring Gold Star families together to remember their loved ones, said Mercado. The families bring their loved ones’ favorite dessert to share with their memories,, she said. They also write letters to them, do crafts as mementos and release balloons “with the hope that it reaches their loved ones,” she said.

The event will be held at the Tampa Veterans Memorial Park and Museum as a collaboration between the Army Reserve Survivor Outreach Services (part of Army Reserve Family Programs), the Army Reserve Medical Command, as well as survivor family members, said Marshall F. Pesta, an Army Reserve spokeswoman.
read more here

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Amputee Veterans Enjoy Parade of Pirates in Tampa

Wounded Veteran Meets Joe Maddon at Bayshore Home on Parade Route
Tampa Tribune
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
January 30, 2016
Charlie Lemon, center, got to have his wish fulfilled and met Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, left, on Saturday at Gasparilla. HOWARD ALTMAN/STAFF
Sitting in his wheelchair on the front lawn of the Bayshore Boulevard home owned by Jill and Scott Kelley, Charlie Lemon talks about an item on his bucket list.

“I really want to meet Joe Maddon,” says Lemon, 32, who lost both legs in Iraq in 2011 when an explosive hit the big armored vehicle in which he was riding.

Lemon is one of about a half-dozen veterans — wounded in combat dating back to the Vietnam War — who, along with spouses and significant others, were invited to watch the annual Gasparailla parade from the Kelleys’ lawn.

For Lemon and the other wounded veterans, it was a chance to see an event they otherwise would have to avoid.

“This is my first Gasparilla since I was hurt,” says Lemon. “There’s no way I could come out here otherwise, because it’s impossible to get around these crowds in this chair.”

It was a sentiment shared by Rudy Salas, who was a Marine lance corporal when he lost his left leg in Vietnam.

“Normally I’d stay home,” says Salas, 68.
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Gasparilla Parade of Pirates
Gasparilla celebrations get off to an early start on Davis Island