“The greatest casualty is being forgotten.”
The war on terror has spawned many terrible things – loss, suffering, high cost, grief, broken families, and economic hardship. Fortunately, it also has brought forth an unprecedented outpouring of support, recognition, and care for America’s wounded and injured servicemen and women and their families, since Sept. 11, 2001.
One such organization is the Wounded Warriors Project, a national support effort that was launched in late 2001. WWP has turned out to be one of the most successful fund-raising organizations in the “take care of our wounded veterans” industry. The quote above is the inspiration behind their vast array of programs helping wounded vets transition to civilian life.
A golfer at Whisper Creek Golf Course participates in a putting contest as part of the Wounded Warriors Project golf outing on August 14. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
WWP has embarked on a nationwide fund-raising effort this month that is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have linked up with Billy Casper Golf and other golfing organizations to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured servicemen. Last Tuesday, more than 100 local golfers participated in a “world’s largest golf outing” tournament at Whisper Creek Golf Course in Sun City. They came to play and honor the memory of Sam Watts of Wheaton, an army paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division who was fatally wounded in Afghanistan in April, two months after he arrived for his deployment. He died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. On May 19.
His mother, Sue, sister Abby, and other family members came to Sun City that day to participate in recreational and ceremonial activities in honor of Sam, who would have celebrated his 21st birthday on that day.
“This was one of the biggest charitable golf events at Whisper Creek ever,” said Dick Schmidt, a long-time friend of the Watts family and a resident of Sun City. “Through the support of individual and corporate sponsors, and the proceeds of our tournament, we raised more than $3,500.”
The $3500 was raised as of the day of the outing, and more was coming in.
“This has been a very successful cooperative project between our golfers and the Wounded Warriors Project, to honor not only Sam and his family, but to support WWP’s work among servicemen and and women nationwide,” Schmidt added.
This “world’s largest golf outing,” as WWP calls it, included more than 6,500 golfers playing at dozens of courses and clubs all over the nation on August 13 and 14.
Sue Watts, mother of fallen soldier Sam Watts, looks on at the golf outing held in his honor by Wounded Warriors Project. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
“Last year, we tried this out as a fund-raising experiment,” said Chris Strand, general manager of the Whisper Creek course. “We raised more than $40,000 nationwide. This year, we expect to raise much, much more than that amount. At Whisper Creek, we had more than 100 golfers playing last Tuesday on more than two dozen four-man teams.”
Whisper Creek is one of 130 golfing facilities in 27 states owned and operated by Billy Casper Golf.
Sam Watts was a native of Wheaton, attended St. John Lutheran Elementary and Junior High schools in Wheaton, and was graduated from Wheaton North High School in 2010. An avid BMX biker, he participated in many sports at Wheaton North and attended the Technology Center of DuPage County in Addison in the Fire Science program. He planned to serve as a firefighter after his return from military service.
Sam always planned to serve in the military,” his mother, Sue, said. “His uncle was wounded at Omaha Beach on D.-Day in World War II, and he always was inspired by that. Sam could be himself around anybody and he loved the people around him. He loved adventure and in his short time here he lived a full life.”
“He did not receive direct support from WWP, but at Walter Reed and since we have seen what Wounded Warriors does for servicemen and their families, and we support and appreciate the many donors who have supported their cause,” she added.
In the past decade, WWP has raised more than $41 million for the cause of helping wounded servicemen, Strand said. “Almost all of the proceeds we took in on Aug. 14 went directly to WWP.”
