WASHINGTION – A handful of NASCAR drivers put their cars in park and their hearts into overdrive as they visited patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington Sept 21. Greg Biffle, who drives the No. 16 National Guard-sponsored car, was one of them.
The visit was part of a larger NASCAR event that included placing three race cars on display, an autograph session and a dinner with live entertainment. Retired NASCAR great Darrell Waltrip served as master of ceremonies at the banquet that also featured tenor Daniel Rodriguez, the New York City policeman who sang “God Bless America” at Yankee Stadium soon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The NASCAR drivers were in nearby Dover, Del, for that September weekend’s Nextel Cup race at Dover International Speedway. Thursday, though, was all about the wounded warriors at Walter Reed.
Small groups of drivers, owners, NASCAR executives and others spent the afternoon combing the wards of Walter Reed for patients to visit. A group that included Biffle crossed paths with Nebraska Army National Guard Sgt. Benjamin Marksmeier who was being wheeled around the hallway by his brother.Marksmeier was being discharged from the hospital.
Marksmeier, 20, a member of Detachment 1, 189th Transportation Company based in Wayne, Neb., suffered serious leg wounds when his convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device near the town of An Numaniyah July 31.
His motto for his daily therapy sessions was simple: “The harder I work, the quicker I get home.”
Marksmeier had a good reason for wanting to go home. He is married with a baby on the way.Although he said he’s “not a great fan” of NASCAR, he likes working on cars, and he completed an auto body repair course at a college at home before he was called up.
According to Sgt. 1st Class Terri Vasquez, an Army National Guard medical liaison, about 300 Guard and Reserve personnel are being treated at Walter Reed, virtually all as outpatients. Vasquez assists patients with such things as pay and family issues, and she arranges visits by state military leaders. During the NASCAR visit, she escorted Biffle’s group, providing information about the patients they visited.
Lifting spirits
Biffle said that he’s been to Walter Reed about a half dozen times.It’s not easy finding the right words to say to someone in a hospital bed with serious injuries, not even for a celebrity. Biffle’s questions ranged from how and where they were injured to what they’ll do when they get out. The patients in turn asked him what life as a NASCAR driver is like. With NASCAR’s popularity, it’s easy to find fans, he said.
Biffle’s group found another wounded warrior being wheeled around the hallway. They gathered around. “How long have you been here?” “How did it happen?” “Was it an IED?” they asked.
They found out that he’s been in about six weeks and that it was a sniper’s bullet while he was on foot patrol in a small city up north.The bullet went through the left buttock, severed some nerves, but thankfully missed bone, the Soldier said.
“Glad to see you’re here,” said Biffle. They shook hands, and the group continued on.
They walked past a quilt fashioned into an American flag and hanging on the wall.It was signed and had the picture of the youngsters who made it sewed on the back.Each patient receives a quilt handmade by school and church groups and other caring organizations, Vasquez said. The chaplain’s office arranges for the quilts.
The group entered an occupational therapy room.A young man flexed his shoulder under the encouragement of a group that surrounded him. Electrodes were connected to his shoulder where lines of stitches warped what was once an intricate tattoo.A meter measured his muscle activity.He was urged on for 10 repetitions. “That’s the best I can do,” he said.
Although Walter Reed is the main treatment facility for the wounded of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, not all who rehabilitate there are casualties of war.Sgt. Kevin Brown from the Maryland National Guard’s 32nd Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team at Fort Meade, Md., was riding his motorcycle home on the night of Aug. 12 with a friend when he was cut off on an entrance ramp along D.C.’s beltway. Brown was thrown 150 feet down the embankment of the ramp.When rescue workers arrived, they couldn’t locate him.
“A helicopter found me with a spotlight,” said Brown.
Biffle approached and asked Brown how he’s doing.
“Excellent!” responded Brown with slightly slurred speech, a tracheotomy tube protruding from his throat.
Brown’s arm, shattered in the accident, was wrapped in a white towel, packed with ice.His jaw was still swollen from reconstructive surgery.One of his legs was missing, although that was not evident because his wheelchair was parked close to a table. His spleen has also been removed.
It’s payback
Biffle asked if Brown was wearing a helmet. He said he was and that he took a motorcycle safety course at Fort Meade.He told Biffle more about the accident. He said he’s not a “big fan of NASCAR” but that he will watch a few minutes of it while surfing the channels. Football is his sport; and the Washington Redskins are his team, Brown said.
“I’ve healed faster than they expected,” he announced. “We call it a miracle,” his mom, Florence, says. His friend and former co-worker Staff Sgt. Kandyce O’Meally, a Maryland Air Guard member, agrees.
“My goal is to come back 100 percent and play with my kids,” Brown said, referring to his daughter, 6, and son, 11.
Brown thanked Biffle and the others for a backpack filled with NASCAR gifts, and said his son would enjoy the toy car.After the group departs, a therapist comes in, takes hold of Brown’s hand and helps him slowly open it, one finger at a time.
”It’s very emotional – more so when the parents are there,” Biffle reflected about his visit.
How does a busy professional racecar driver feel about giving up the better part of a day to spend with the troops?It’s simple payback, Biffle said. “They’re protecting our freedoms. We’re indebted to them.”
Later, Biffle welcomed patients and family members to an autograph session, getting out of his chair to pose with them for pictures whenever they wanted one.Army Cpl. Christopher Stickland rolled up and accepted an autographed poster.But that wouldn’t do.He slowly got out of his wheelchair and, with the help of his crutches, stood next to Greg Biffle for a photograph.