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When we go to war, so do they. In every war in American history, dogs have been by our sides helping us to find the enemy and keep us safe.

Now they are also helping to heal our wounds.

A recent story in USA Today revealed that the two "specially selected and trained therapy dogs will be attached to combat stress units in Tikrit and Mosul, where 'they'll be a vital part of the medical team' that helps troops struggling with stress, sleep disorders and event-related stress." Read more.

Dogs are also being used to help our newly wounded troops through rehabilitation. Shane Parsons, a wounded soldier who recently received a new house courtesy of CSAH, has a very special bond with Gracie, a mixed breed therapy dog, who visits him often as he recovers at Brooke Army Medical Center.

And ... in this heartwarming case, man is dog's best friend. Nubs is an Iraqi dog who was severely injured and saved by one very special Marine. If you love dogs, you must read this story here!

Labels: dogs, recovery, rehabilitation, supporting wounded veterans, trends, wounded soldier, wounded troops

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you all know how incredible LeAnn Rimes is! She gave CSAH 10 tickets and 10 VIP passes to meet with her before and after her show this Friday, January 25 in Tama, Iowa. She even invited us to listen to her sound check as she gets ready for the show! Fellow wounded veteran B.J. Jackson and his wife Abby are going to go with me and my wife Sarah.

We're also bringing with us a recently wounded soldier's wife as well as a Marine that lost his foot in Iraq, and some other local troops.

LeAnn is such a special woman, she has dedicated so much of her time to helping out CSAH and supporting the troops. Last October, B.J. Jackson and I got to fly to New York City to present her with REDBOOK Magazines Strength and Spirit Award at the Hearst Tower for her dedication to our wounded troops. We were very honored, and I am very honored to be able to attend her show this Friday, and even more excited to take some of my fellow brothers and sisters in arms to meet LeAnn!

So at 8:00 pm this Friday, I hope you all will be thinking of us and how lucky we are to have the support of amazing people like LeAnn - the songstress of the troops.

-Posted by Donny Daughenbaugh

Labels: celebrities, injured troops, LeAnn Rimes, wounded troops

It has been a while since our last post, and we wanted to log in to tell everyone to have a Happy New Year!

2007 was amazing for us, as an organization we have grown and passed many milestones. We have now helped over 5,000 severely wounded troops from the War on Terror!

Our Road to Recovery was a huge success last year, and we look forward to begin planning on the 2008 Conference and Tribute.

Check out our 2007 Year in Review video below!

Labels: Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, injured troops, military story, patriotic, wounded troops, wounded warriors

We were looking through some older photos today and wanted to share some with you that we thought were pretty funny!

Here are two of our National Spokespeople, B.J. Jackson (left) and J.R. Martinez (right) on a 1500-mile bike ride in early October in Southern California. They were riding to raise funds and awareness for other wounded veterans with Operation American Spirit, a nonprofit organization founded by Emmy nominated actor Jack Scalia. J.R. was really showing his American pride with his red, white and blue mohawk!!

J.R. just couldn't keep from goofing off throughout this two week bike ride. Check out his new hairdo!

Check out our Events and Fundraisers section of our photo gallery for more pictures of the Operation American Spirit ride.

Labels: cycling, Operation American Spirit, Salute Heroes, wounded troops

Well it has been a crazy few days for us! Yesterday we flew from our hometown of Indianapolis, IN to the Big Apple, New York City, for a chance to appear on the Montel Williams Show! We got a call late on Tuesday from Montel's producers asking us if we would be able to share our family's story and how we have overcome adversity on his show. Of course we accepted! So we flew in Wednesday afternoon and filmed the show on Thursday, and then flew back home after the show was done taping.
It was a whirlwind trip, but we were thrilled to be able to share our story of resilience with a national audience, and of course, we were thrilled to meet Montel!
Check out our picture with Montel!

When Jerry was injured, of course it was a very tough time for all of us. But since then we have gone on to be stronger than ever as a family unit, and we have been blessed with many things along the way. The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes has been very instrumental is helping us through the hard times, and we always want to send a word of thanks their way! We would also like to thank Montel and his crew for allowing us to share our story, and share the Coalition's message on his show. We will let you all know as soon as possible when the show is going to air!

Now I guess it is time to get back to real life....

-Joan and Jerry Majetich

Labels: inspiration, Montel, Salute Heroes, wounded troops

I was asked by my good friend, Ron Martz (former military reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution), on behalf of the The Association of Military Journalists (www.militaryreporters.org) , to represent my fellow injured OIF/OEF veterans on the panel called "Covering the Wounded" at their annual conference in Arlington, VA on October 12, 2007.

There I answered questions from the press on my perspective of how this subject has been treated by the media, what I think they are doing right and what I think they are doing wrong. I'll let the answers I gave there remain exclusive to those who attended, but I can tell you that the media has been my friend during my recovery. Since 2004, I have been the National Spokesman for the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes so I've had my fair share of interactions with the press. The press holds all the power with their pen and paper to tell the American public our story. Thanks to the journalists like the ones I met at this conference, the public is now more aware than ever of the battles our families when returning home severely wounded. Without these stories, too many Americans may forget that our freedom is not free.


General Sanchez was the keynote speaker at the event. Here he poses for a picture with me. I have a lot of respect for the former General.

Thank you Ron for this great honor to represent the wounded service members at your conference. Thank you to all who attended.

For more information on The Association of Military Journalists, visit www.militaryreporters.org.

- Posted by J.R. Martinez

Labels: military reporters, military story, wounded soldier, wounded troops