Consequences of war merge with Thanksgiving 11/23/04)

Consequences of war merge with Thanksgiving

Danielle Green, self-described "one tough sister" from Chicago, always cherishes the time of season when there's a chill, a turkey roasting and football on TV. This year, she knows why she's thankful.
Unlike the former Notre Dame basketball player and soldier, most of us don't fully grasp the simple, underrated concept of gratefulness. We're too absorbed in the superficial aspects of our debased culture. We're preoccupied with the ESPN-ization of our daily lives. An overdose of perspective is welcomed.

Last May, Green lost her wedding ring — while it was attached to her left hand, blown off by a rocket-propelled grenade atop a Baghdad police station. Army comrades found the ring on her dominant hand, buried in 6 inches of sand. Green, 27, is home for a week after six months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she has had seven surgeries and endless therapy.

"I am really thankful," she says. "I mean, Thanksgiving really means something now, you know? I probably shouldn't be here. But I am."

More than 9,300 American soldiers have been wounded during the war in Iraq. Dick Lynch, a former Brown University football player, and ex-NFL star Christian Okoye have co-founded Impact Player Partners. Designed to pair disabled veterans with athletes, it is an offshoot of Lynch's Impact Player League, which markets athletes with disabilities and disabled vets.

"The people really suffering are those fighting the war on terrorism and their families," Lynch says. "Then there's the rest of us. We appreciate what (soldiers) are doing, but we're still going to soccer games and church. We don't have the skins in the game they do."

James "Eddie" Wright, a 28-year-old Marine corporal, lost both hands after his Humvee was hit by an enemy ambush. The blast broke one of his legs and ruptured an eardrum. Wright had a chance to attend a Miami Dolphins game, where he met his favorite player, Junior Seau, whose foundation funded the trip. Eddie's still talking about that day, probably more so than his Bronze Star. So are some of the big, tough Dolphins whose legs he turned into jelly, guys like Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor.

Then there's Mike McNaughton, 32, a sergeant in the National Guard. He volunteered to clear mines in Afghanistan. One day, the Louisiana native stopped on the wrong spot. He lost his right leg, two fingers and part of his left leg. This summer, McNaughton went to a NASCAR race at Talladega, Ala., where, as a guest of Hendrick Motorsports, he met with several drivers.

This fall, three disabled vets were invited to a Houston Texans practice. The Air Force's Scott Palomino, 21, and Anthony Pizzifred, 20, who both had their left legs amputated below the knee, caught passes from David Carr. Receiver Andre Johnson ran with Brian Wilhelm, 22, an Army infantryman who lost a leg and uses a prosthetic device.

"We talk all the time in this game about making sacrifices," Houston coach Dom Capers says. "Then, all of a sudden, you have three young guys your age standing in front of you with artificial legs. These men made the ultimate sacrifice. We forget that many times because we get caught up in our own world."

Too many times, it's a universe of the inane. One where Bill Parcells' words are dissected. Where the poor judgment of a network and a player is endlessly rehashed. Where the Ron Artests of the world trigger a riot, then days later crassly promote an album on national TV as if nothing happened.

"I was thinking about this the other day," Green says. "I appreciate what I have now. I don't think about what I don't have. Even our have-nots have more than the Iraqi civilians have. I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for life in America. It makes me that much more thankful. Just look at our athletes, like Latrell Sprewell. Ten million is not enough to feed his family — what kind of statement is that? I think of how spoiled and ungrateful some of us are."

Then she remembers the way it used to be, before she went to war, before she gave her left hand for something greater than herself.