[Previous entry: "Vacant Seat For FH Town Council"] [Next entry: "New Energy Codes Adoption Questioned"]

12/27/2009: "Bauschke To Climb Kilimanjaro In Fund Raiser For Wounded Veterans"

(Sergeant Bauschke renders aid to accident victim in Afghanistan)

In 2005 when we ran a story entitled "Walking for the Wounded", we had no idea the subject of the story would some years later be writing a column for us.

While Sergeant Thomas G. Bauschke is well known to the readers of the Island Guardian for his column about serving in Afghanistan, what is not so well know is his past and current devotion to making a difference for those who have been wounded in battle.

In February he will travel to Africa and climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

The good sergeant is currently a Combat Medic serving in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division, and recently he too was injured, received a Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound from enemy fire, and will be returning home this January on leave; then it is off to Africa to continue his walk for The Wounded Warrior Project. In his own words:

"On February 11th, I will climb 30 miles up nearby 14,967-foot Mount Meru to get used to altitude. Then, on February 16th I will climb 38 miles to summit 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro. The climbs will total 68 miles, 24,305 feet gained and 24,918 feet lost over 11 days.

This is my 3rd fundraiser for The WWP. I hiked the Wonderland Trail 96 miles around Mt Rainier in Washington State in 2005 and 2006, where I raised more than $8,000. I gained pledges per mile from all walks of life in my hometown of Friday Harbor, WA. For this 3rd walk I wish to step it up by seeking support from American Legion Posts and concerned citizens across northwestern Washington, perhaps even across the United States.

My goals are: 1) raise money to aid wounded men & women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan 2) foster greater awareness of the sacrifices service members make in serving our great nation during war.

I have lived in Friday Harbor, WA since 1998. I am 44 years old and reenlisted in the Army in 2007 at age 41 to be a Medic. I never imagined the Army would post me to the Infantry. My first Army enlistment was from 1985-1988 where I was in the Signal Corps and served in West Germany. During the years in between I kept busy. In 1995 I thru-hiked the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. In 1997 I thru-hiked the 2,700-mile Pacific Crest Trail. Then, in 2000 I rode a bicycle 4,800 miles coast-to-coast on the American Discovery Trail. And finally, in 2002 I canoed some 1,500 miles down the Mississippi River.

All proceeds from my climbs will go to the WWP as I already own all my gear and have booked and paid for the trip myself. If you have any questions please call me on my cell: (360) 298-1013 (beginning about the 15th of January 2010) or email me anytime at thruhiker@aol.com. I will answer emails here in Afghanistan as time and missions allow.

Detailed information about the WWP is available at their web site: www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
(1) The WWP brings much needed clothing, toiletries, and phone cards directly to wounded soldiers, Marines, airmen, and sailors in military hospitals across the US and overseas. Most of these warriors have permanently debilitating injuries.
(2) The WWP subsidizes necessities such as housing, food, daycare, airfare, and ground transportation so families can visit injured service members at military hospitals here in the US and overseas.
(3) The WWP offers peer support and counseling.
(4) The WWP funds and sponsors injury adaptive sports and recreation programs.

If anyone would care to donate please stop in at the American Legion Post 163 in Friday Harbor, WA to sign up on their pledge sheets. You can also mail your check to American Legion Post 163, PO Box 163, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.

Please make checks payable to: Wounded Warrior Project.
Donors may want to contribute in set amounts of $10 or $25. A .25-cent per mile pledge x 68 total miles = $17.00, $.50/mi = $34, $1/mi = $68, etc.
You can also donate directly on the WWP’s web site. The WWP is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity.

$.82 of every dollar donated goes to services and Programs. Donations are tax deductible. The Wounded Warrior Project's Federal ID number is: 20-2370934, their Headquarters are located at 7020 A.C. Skinner Pkwy, Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32256; Phone: (877) 832-6997.

We take care of our own.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sergeant Thomas G. Bauschke"