Posted on 07/27/2005 5:03:29 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 27, 2005) – The Houston Astros received a special visit at the ball park July 23, shortly after making a special visit of their own.
Several wound-recovering Soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center watched the visiting Astros take on the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium after receiving an invitation by the team’s highest ranking official.
The Soldiers were invited guests of team owner Drayton McLane, who took several of his players to visit with recovering troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital the two afternoons prior to the game. McLane arranged for his guests to watch the game in comfort, giving the Soldiers a private luxury box over-looking left field.
“It’s a great opportunity to come out and see the game,” said Sgt. Steve Clark, a recovering Soldier at Walter Reed Soldier from Bloomington, Ind. “It makes me feel good that a professional team like the Astros thinks of us and does something like this, showing that they care. It means a lot.”
The Astros hosted between 10 and 15 Soldiers during each game within their four-game series against the Nationals July 21-24.
Ten Soldiers and family members took in the July 23 game, enjoying complimentary food and beverages, and some cool air conditioning.
“Watching baseball in the air conditioning – I’ve never done that before,” Clark said.
Soldiers, like Staff Sgt. Bill Winburn, were also able to watch the game from seats outside the box in the stadium’s mezzanine level. Winburn watched the game alongside his older brother Larry, who came to visit from Michigan and get better acquainted with his injured brother.
“I love it that he got to come down here and visit me,” said Winburn, who suffered injuries from an improvised explosive device attack just 20 days before the game. “We were never a close family but we’re trying to get close now. For us to be able to get out to a game here – I love it. I’ve always looked up him and just to have him here with me – I enjoy it.”
During the sixth-inning, the Soldiers received a visit to their box from McLane and the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1, Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck.
Hagenbeck praised the support efforts of McLane and the Houston Astros, noting that baseball is not just a comfort to Soldiers at Walter Reed, but to troops deployed overseas as well.
“I’m still a firm believer that baseball is America’s national pastime,” Hagenbeck said. “During my 19 months in Afghanistan, every single day of the baseball season, we had it piped through the cable TV system in the headquarters. It was a way for the Soldiers who were deployed overseas to stay connected with America.”
McLane said the desire to visit with the Soldiers and invite them to the ballgame came from his previous interactions with Soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas.
“I have known a couple Soldiers who have come back injured, and I saw the sacrifice and suffering they’ve made and been through,” McLane said. “I knew, as owner of the Astros, the public has responded so positively to these great players, and the Soldiers enjoyed them immensely. But they made us better human beings.”
McLane added that the team left their visit of Walter Reed with “lifted spirits” and were amazed at the positive attitude of the wounded warriors.
Astros Manager Phil Gardner said he too was touched by the positive attitudes of the Soldiers.
“We appreciate them for the sacrifices they have made – the pain and suffering they have had to go through,” Gardner said. “But every one of them we talked to was upbeat. They were very pleased with their ability to be able to sacrifice something for our country.”
The Soldiers also made fans of the Astros players who praised them for their focus on teamwork and devotion to fellow Soldiers in their units.
“Just to see those guys in there, and how brave they were, and listening to their stories about what they had to do everyday, you could tell they were very proud of their team atmosphere,” Houston right fielder Jason Lane said. “It’s kind of like what we have except that the risks they take are just amazing. They risk life and limb every time they go out or just by being over there.”
Lane also marveled at the Soldiers’ pride, noting that most of the injured Soldiers he spoke with said that they wanted to go back and redeploy.
Four-time Gold Glove winning Houston second baseman Craig Biggio said he was honored to have met with and interacted with some of the nation’s “true heroes.”
“It’s an honor to be able to go out there and see these guys who go out there and sacrifice their lives in order for us to have the lives that we have,” Biggio said. “The amazing thing about these guys is how committed they are to the security of our country.
“They have a passion for the people that they work with, and a love for their job. I really came away from there just being a very lucky man to be able to go over there and talk to those guys.”
Winburn said he was surprised to have learned how much of an impact the Astros’ visit to Walter Reed had on the players themselves.
“It shocks me. If you go to Walter Reed you will see guys that are missing legs and their morale is up,” he said. “That’s why their morale is up, because of famous athletes (like the Astros) that come and visit us. We’re not doing anything but our jobs and what we are supposed to do.”
But for Lane and his teammates, the pleasure from the experience has truly been theirs.
“If we’ve inspired them or lifted their spirits, that’s great,” Lane said, “but I think they may have done more for us than we did for them.”
Staff Sgt. Bill Winburn (left) and his brother Larry enjoy the view of the Houston Astros-Washington Nationals game July 23 at RFK Stadium. Winburn was one of several Soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center invited by the Astros to catch a game from a luxury box during the team's four-game series at Washington July 21-24. Rey Guzman
Drayton is a heck of a guy!
As a BroncosFan who is also a HUGE Astros fan (since '80), this is So Cool!!!!
I want to send a "thank you note"....
thanks in advance
Needed item - no lie. BTT.
Thanks to the Astros for doing this.
A real tear-jerker.
Cool. I'm a Broncos Fan as well.
Nats fan doesn't even mind losing to a team that will honor our men in service.
Not sure.
I'll do some checking.
There may be a better way to get them a note. I'll check.
They are amazing and I'm glad to see that the American people are showing their appreciation. No matter how much the liberals whine about our volunteer military, the fact is, people recognize honor and devotion when they see it.
Very cool! Thanks
Wow, it sure IS a tear jerker. Thanks for posting!
Outstanding post! America's finest!
HOW COOLLL rack itttt
Sounds like Drayton! I lived 3 blocks from his house in Temple. He does things like that.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com
Try their website.
Houston Astros Baseball Club
501 Crawford St
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 799-9500
thanks for posting. somehow I missed this article in the hometown Houston Chronicle </sarcasm>
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