FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Nearly two dozen Arizona veterans got the opportunity to let it all go and enjoy the slopes of the High Country thanks to the work of three organizations and volunteers.
Marsie Franco served in the Army for 26 years. She remembered an insider attack while serving in Afghanistan.
“I was able to get two, three people out of the way so they would be killed,” Franco said.
Ray Krick served four years in the Army. He remembered, “having to work seeing people get blown up and shot,” as a combat paramedic in Afghanistan.
What these veterans witnessed sticks with them here at home.
Denise Mccarson said after seven years in the Army, she wasn’t comfortable coming back to civilian life, where there weren’t guns for protection or a routine.
“It was scary to go out because you’re always on guard. You’re watching who’s doing what to your vehicle or who’s passing you or what’s in your bag,” Mccarson said.
But Thursday on the slopes of Arizona’s High Country, these veterans took a small step to ride out the big realities of war.
The Wounded Warrior Project teamed up with the Arizona Snowbowl and the Northern Arizona Adaptive Sports Association (NAASA) to give 23 vets a chance to reconnect with civilian life—regardless of their physical or emotional wounds.
“I can participate instead of sitting in the lounge, so it’s awesome,” Franco said.
The founder and executive director of the NAASA, Alex Davenport, said the bridge was the outdoors.
“Skiing and snowboarding -- it’s an excellent way to get back and kind of return to what we might consider normal,” Davenport said.
Wounded Warrior outreach coordinator Alejandro Salazar said it was an opportunity for veterans to find something to look forward to.
“Finding that mission in life, finding that goal or just finding something to occupy their time … can be life-saving. A lot of people don’t have things to look forward to, so to find a new passion, a new hobby—that can be life-changing for some of these warriors,” Salazar said.
It was a cost-free chance to get away from the noise.
“It’s away from the city, so there’s nothing out here that just kind of reminds you of your daily life. It’s just an escape,” Krick said.
It was a way to let go of their worries.
“The freedom—you’re learning something new and you’re just out here,” Mccarson explained.
Franco said it was a reason to get up in the morning and take a step toward healing, “because you’re not thinking about stuff that happened, you’re thinking about 'How in the heck am I going to get down there and not kill myself?'”
At the end of their adventure, each group goes out to dinner together to talk about their lessons or anything else they feel comfortable sharing.
Anyone wanting to know about participating in events like this organized by the Wounded Warrior Project can click here.