Photo: Getty Images North America
The Wounded Warrior Project has been assisting America’s military members as they recover from the physical and emotional wounds suffered in service of their country for 20 years. To celebrate their exemplary work, the group’s CEO, Lieutenant General (retired) Mike Linnington, will be the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Veterans Day Parade this Saturday in Manhattan. A humble but proud Linnington appeared on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program to discuss the honor of being connected with America’s armed forces.
“I’m incredibly excited, of course, (but) I’ll tell you, it’s not about me,” Linnington told Berman and Riedel. “This is the year the Army is the focus branch for this parade… Me, being a 35-year Army veteran, I’m really there to represent not only the Wounded Warrior Project, but more importantly the Army, which will be the lead service this year at the Veteran’s day Parade… Very few choose the military as a way of life, so we really are honoring them and the veterans that have made out country great and really protected our freedoms over the last 248 years.”
Linnington discussed the group’s evolving mission to help America’s veterans heal from physical and psychological trauma. “We started in 2003 really focusing on the physical injuries, the physical wounds of war, you know, blast injuries, gunshot wounds, burns. And over the years, of course, as the number of U.S. service members deployed has dwindled, our focus is now more on the invisible wounds of war, and there’s still some stigma across the country in getting help for invisible wounds of war. We’re not just talking post-traumatic stress, but there’s also traumatic brain injury, you know, successive concussive injuries, cancer is a bigger challenge for us right now… We bring a thousand veterans down the streets of New York for the parade this Saturday. Getting them reconnected after they take off the uniform is a big focus of what we do.”
The 104th Veterans Day Parade kicks off at 9:30am; it starts at 5th Avenue and 26th Street and heads north to 47th Street. An estimated 20,000 veterans from all branches of the military are expected to be there. It’s a chance for Americans to honor and thank the men and women who defended our nation and make it possible for us to live our lives under freedom’s embrace.
Photo Credit: Getty Images