Wounded Heroes of America

2021 Started with a text message

Santa rolls a little differently in 2020. From the very beginning of WHOA, back in 2004, we have had a Christmas program. It started with three surviving spouses and a few children who, at the time, lived far away from So Cal. At first, we mostly mailed gifts to the children, but over time we began to work with combat wounded who lived closer, and we became better able to visit them at their homes. Before long, we started Operation Santa. Over the years, we grew to have so m...any kids that we were spending most of December collecting and wrapping and shipping and delivering toys. Eventually, we just put on the Santa suit and began Operation Santa in earnest. The kids loved surprise visits from Santa, and so did we. Each of the last several years, we visited more than thirty cities on average, and well over forty homes. We also shipped gifts to families in other states, as well as to families in Puerto Rico and the Navajo reservation. This year, though, everything changed. We could no longer make those visits because of Covid-19, so Santa had to shelter at home. But as they say in the military, "adapt and overcome." We knew that our Christmas program had to continue, so we did just that: we adapted and we overcame. Operation Santa 2020 was certainly different, but it was still a huge success. On December 19 and 20, many families came to see Santa’s winter headquarters here in Hawthorne, CA, and speaking on behalf of the elves, we were all incredibly grateful and excited to be able to see our kids. It's amazing how big these kids can grow in a year! And those who could not make it still received something from Santa via US mail. Covid-19 has, of course, changed everything. We wish, pray, and hope that we can put this horrible virus behind us, and soon. From the bottoms of our hearts, we want to thank all of our donors and supporters for making Operation Santa 2020 possible. While there is so much uncertainty in the world these days, we have no doubt at all that watching Santa and the kids together is great medicine.

2020 has been a year to remember- Now it is Christmas At - Wounded Heroes of America- Operation Santa is our biggest and most labor-intensive program of the year-and by the way, most expensive too. It consists of donated, as well as purchasing toys, which are wrapped and delivered by our veterans to families of our veterans. Our vets are mostly post 9/11 combat wounded vets, so they are young with young families and their kids love when Santa shows up at the door. We have ...veterans’ families from Hawthorne to all around Southern Cal cities last few years we visited over 30 cities and over 40 homes. For more about our Christmas program see the links below. https://woundedheroesofamerica.org/video-gallery/ https://woundedheroesofamerica.org/2015-first-christmas-wr/ This has been a tough year- We could use a little help from our friends- How can I help you are probably asking yourself? One way we are accepting new unwrapped toys at our office 14147 Hawthorne BL, Hawthorne. Come by and drop of your gifts or call 310-780-4540 for more detail The other is go on our webpage and make a donation https://woundedheroesofamerica.org/donate/ Happy holidays for all of us at Wounded Heroes of America

A Time for Thanksgiving and for Giving Thanks Every year on the third Thursday in November, we get together at our favorite restaurant, the El Cholo Restaurant in La Habra, and pass out turkeys to our veterans. This has become a tradition we usually do all in one evening, but this year nothing is as usual. We want to thank Ron Salisbury, the owner of the El Cholo Restaurants, for being such a great friend to Wounded Heroes of America. Despite all of the shutdowns and restric...tions, Ron made it possible for us to carry on our Thanksgiving tradition: Operation Gobble Gobble. On the following Monday after the El Cholo event, we received another carload of complete turkey dinners from Albertsons Market in Carson, another great friend of our Thanksgiving program. Big thanks to Lydia Modina and her staff for helping make Thanksgiving a special time for all of us this year. Our Thanksgiving would not be complete if we didn’t bring turkey dinners to our friends at the Gardena Veteran Center. We have a great relationship with the Vet Center; prior to Covid-19, we were holding finance classes in person at their facility, and we’ve been a mutual resource for helping veterans. The holidays can be difficult for many families. After passing out turkey dinners to all of our vets, we had some extras. We called Jose Medina, a friend of WHOA and the president of Hawthorne School District Classified Employees Union, to help identify a few families we could donate turkey dinners to. The rest of the dinners went to families in Hawthorne. A good ending to Operation Gobble Gobble 2020. NEXT. The holiday season is upon us and all we can say is WOW !!! Thank God this year is almost over but not quite. It is 2020 Operation Santa, and we need all the help we can get. Please visit our web page and contribute Let’s bring some Christmas cheers to our kids. https://woundedheroesofamerica.org/donate/ You can also contribute by donating new unwrapped toys and drop them off at our office at 14147 Hawthorne BLVD Hawthorne CA 90250

https://www.univision.com//hispano-veterano-de-guerra-y-co Erick Castro is a young man that I would like people to know about. He's the kind of person you have look at and wonder what makes a person who they are and why they are they are that way- Why do some people quit while others go on? Erick, first of all, is a friend of mine, he is a combat wounded vet- he's an inspirational guy who also happens to be the Chairman of the Board of Wounded Heroes of America. He's making a difference in the lives of many. I'm very proud to know this young man... Congrats brother.

Rudy has been called home. Rudy finally came home today- He is in the best company he could be with- surrounded by American Heroes just like him at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. It been an honor and a privilege to know this family. Rudy was a quiet, soft-spoken guy but serious, you could tell he was reliable- a protector. At the service today Claudia, his fiancé and mother to his daughter Victoria, read a letter from Rudy’s platoon leader, now a general in the Army, ...letting everyone know what a valued soldier Rudy was and what a privilege it was to have served with him. He said, they had served together in some of the fiercest fights of the Iraq war and that countless of lives had been saved because Rudy was on the gunner up on top protecting the troops. It is because of men like Rudy that we have the freedoms we enjoy today. We are all going to miss him. Keep this family in your prayers. Rest easy, sleep well brother. Know the line has held, your job is done. Rest easy, sleep well. Others have taken up where you fell, the line held. Peace, Peace, and farewell

I got the news today that Rudy Saavedra has passed away. I just want to share a little bit about a Hero of mine. Rudy was special to me; his whole family was but specially his mother Martha. Every story has a beginning and Rudy was at the very beginning of Wounded Heroes of America. I met him at his purple heart ceremony in early 2007. On that day Sgt Major Jesse Acosta, Felipe Adams, Alroy Billiman and Rudy Saavedra were receiving their Purple Heart- They were joined ...by Anthony Bentley who had receive his Purple Heart earlier that month but was still at the Long Beach Hospital These were amazing men. They represented courage and sacrifice that I had never seen before. I was amazed at how gracefully they accepted there wounded- I knew little about war but I was seeing the real consequence- Young men in the prime of their lives who paid a horrific price for their Country. They became the first Combat Wounded Veterans of Wounded Heroes of America. I learned a lot from Rudy. Of all the vets in that first group Rudy stayed at the hospital the longest, not because of the mature of his wounds, but because he lived in the Echo Park area and there was no way for him to get to his home as it was a tri-level lot. It was not until the non-profit Rebuilding Together stepped up and installed two lift that he was able to go home. Both Rudy and Felipe Adams were paraplegics due to sniper fire. We were able, through the help of Steve Danyluk and the Independence fund, get them special state of the art wheelchairs. For the early days of our foundation Rudy was always there He is going to be missed. What I remember most, and it endeared me to these vets was something that Rudy said one day. I went to the Long Beach VA to see him and he was being interview by La Opinion, a local Spanish paper. The reported asked him how do feel about the war now that you have paid such price? Rudy replied--- Ever since I was little boy I wanted to be a soldier, I’m just sorry that I don’t have anything else to give to the Army, and if I had to do it all again, I would do all the same That’s the kind of hero we lost yesterday- Rest easy and sleep well brother. If you’ve never seen a Purple Heart Ceremony- This was Rudy’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EleqTB5KAW8

We’re all going through tough times right now - Non-profits are struggling just like everyone else and we at Wounded Heroes of America are no exception. Every month we send financial help to vets and their families. The amount and the number of veterans receiving the assistance depends in large part on the generosity of friends like you. Please continue your support by making a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation. https://woundedheroesofamerica.org/donate/ T...Continue reading