Waterfront Warriors welcomes service members to the beach

Hosts annual 5K, parade through the West End

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The streets of the West End were packed with flag-waving residents as the seventh annual Waterfront Warriors welcome parade stepped off on July 19.

Twenty-two service members and their families were brought to Long Beach as part of this year’s Waterfront Warriors program. The organization gives severely wounded servicemen and women at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the chance to take a vacation with their families. It raises money throughout the year to fund the trip, which LBWW Co-chair Gerry Snell said is extremely popular among the troops at Walter Reed.

“We know that the people staying at Walter Reed are rehabbing there because they’re recovering from horrendous injuries,” Snell said. “And it most impacts their families because they have to live there with them. So wherever they’re living throughout the United States, while they’re rehabbing — which can be a couple of years, sometimes longer — that’s where they have to stay. So we know that the family needs a break from living in the hospital all year.”

Sixty-six servicemen and women and members of their families arrived in Long Beach on July 17, and stayed at the Allegria Hotel until July 22. According to Snell, several branches of the armed forces were represented, including the Marines and Coast Guard.

“Long Beach is really what makes this possible,” Snell added. “It’s not individuals; it’s the spirit of Long Beach. So many people volunteer and contribute — it’s the only way we could do it.”

Activities included a 5K Race for the Soldiers on the boardwalk, boat rides, fishing, relaxing on the beach, swimming, surfing lessons and a trip to New York City. This year’s visit included some time at the 9/11 Memorial at ground zero, and at the Top of the Rock observation deck at Rockefeller Plaza.

“If you said to me, ‘Pick an occasion for someone from out of state to learn what Long Beach is about,’ this would have to be a great candidate for that,” State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky said. “You have people that put so much time and effort into volunteering for this and making this their priority. And they know that what they’re doing — as great as it is — is only a fraction of the sacrifice that the soldiers made for our country.”

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