Hugo Gonzalez - Duty, Honor, Country...

Like many of you or your loved ones reading this, I was wounded in action in the city of Baquba, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Just the fact that we are alive and reading this blog should be the biggest blessing of our lives, we are still here to be a helpful tool or inspiration for others who may be struggling. The truth is, sometimes it is so hard for a wounded veteran to understand that blessings often appear to us in the form of pain, loss and disappointment. But if we have faith in whatever is good, and if we have patience, we will soon see all the good for what it really is.

Actually, you are probably looking at all of your blessings face to face, straight in the eye at this moment.  

For all of us past and present representatives of the Heroes Thanking Heroes Program of the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, the opportunity to work from home on our own schedule and still feel productive again is truly a blessing for us. I for one love to make my thank you calls and show my gratitude for the people who have been so generous to our organization so they may help veterans like me and my fellow colleagues. To hear the happiness in our donor’s voices when I say “Hello my name is Spc. Hugo Gonzales, and I’m calling from the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, just to say thank you.” Just warms my heart.

We have the greatest opportunity to visualize where we are and where we would like to be in our future. But we should never forget the effort and commitment of so many people that helped us when we needed it the most, and helped us get to where we are now. Our American Patriots that truly understand the value of our wounded veterans.

Many of you may agree with me, that the strength of this nation stands on our armed forces in the same way that the strength of our armed forces stands on the men and women who serve, but the strength of our veterans stand on our families. You read that correctly, it is our family that gives us strength.

Gonzales Family

When a service member goes to war, so does their family. Same with our injuries, when a veteran gets injured, the family as a whole is injured as well. Our families have been challenged and a lot of the time they rise to that challenge and take it with grace and honor. Our spouses, those steel magnolias, they have stood by our side and taken direct fire from us, the VA, and the DOD. In my opinion they deserve a lot of our gratitude and recognition.

That’s why I love being a part of this great organization. The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes makes the time to fight for the Veteran’s cause and make sure the families are secure and taken care of. They make the opportunity available to work from home so our veterans and caregivers can work from home and earn a living while being physically present to care for their families. As long as a veteran’s family is secure, they will never fail.

I believe that each dollar that is invested in the recovery process of a wounded veteran is like a seed of success. Your generosity is planting a seed in nutritious soil of a skillful veteran. You are giving that veteran a chance to grow big and strong again. Like the tallest red wood that you would ever see. Your support is giving that veteran an opportunity to get out and be strong for the world to see, instead of them hiding and seeking shelter.

You see our veterans have a unique advantage, because of our military background and the foundation that has been tested under fire, we are very strong and very reliable. We become like iron forged into steel. That’s why we make the best employees and are so successful when we put our hearts and minds to it. We are the best for any business, and natural born leaders. We may seem young, most of us in our early 20’s but because of everything we have endured in our short lives, we are more like a person in their 40’s. The things we’ve seen and done can really pack on the years. Finding the courage to run into the gunfire than away from it takes and commitment and courage. Our willingness to serve and protect our country, our friends, our family, this is what makes us so wonderful and this country so great and strong.

For all of my brothers and sisters in uniform I just want to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I encourage you to stay strong, and know that you have tons of support.

We have a lot more to give, our life didn’t end with our injury. We are stronger, we are a new rare breed of American Veterans. We are ones making our families and this country proud.

Always remember Duty…Honor…Country.