Helping our heroes

This blog is about wounded warriors: young men whose bodies and lives have been shattered by war.

They get incredible medical care, the world's finest. Thanks to modern medicine, 90% of those wounded in war survive. That's the good news.

The bad news is, of course, that they survive with devastating injuries: missing hands and arms and legs, dreadful disfiguring burns, life-disrupting brain trauma.

The even worse news is that while the dedicated people at Walter Reed and other U.S. government medical centers give these wounded troops wonderful medical care, that's all they do. Once they are discharged from the hospital, they are virtually abandoned.

They are left largely on their own to try to build a new life. Their bodies are torn apart, their minds and spirits bruised and battered.

Yesterday, they were strong, healthy members of a fighting force. Today, they are cripples, racked by pain, doubt, and fear.

They face their greatest battle today, one whose challenge surpasses that of the battlefield. The same courage that sustained them in battle can sustain them.

And so can we.

I am one of a group of ordinary Americans who are not going to let these fallen heroes struggle on their own. We are organized as Our Finest.Org, a non-profit tax-exempt corporation whose sole mission is to help our wounded warriors rise up and build a great new life.

Here you will find their inspiring stories and get a behind the scenes view of our efforts to help them.

Once discharged, these heroes are forgotten. But not by us.

We believe that the American public -- once they understand the real facts -- will not allow those who sacrificed their healthy bodies for the cause of freedom to struggle alone.

They stood up for us. We shall stand behind them.

Our non-profit operates with complete transparency.

Unfortunately, there are some bloodsucking veterans organizations out there which solicit money and spend little of it to actually help our fallen soldiers. We intend to provide perfect accountability and share openly with anyone interested just what we're doing and why and how. So in addition to updates from the battlefield, you will find here stories about our efforts to help.

And you are encouraged to share your viewpoint. We exist to serve the wounded warrior and will be responsible to the American public for our stewardship.

Have a look at our website: www.ourfinest.org

Mark Draper, Ph.D.
CEO