Published: June 24, 2009 04:11 pm      

Backpack program started for Marines

Lance Corporal Ryan Zimmerer’s injury during a training mission in the South China Sea inspired his mother, Jackie Zimmerer, to do something for other wounded soldiers who are transferred to the Wounded Warriors unit at the Marine Base in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Ryan — a Marine who grew up in Gainesville — went from jumping out of helicopters to riding in wheel chairs, his mother said.

Like some of his fellow Marines, Ryan arrived without his cellular phone, clean clothes and toiletry items.

“It took two and a half weeks to get to him,” she said of her son’s personal items.

Zimmerer admitted quick medical treatment is more important than what she calls “comfort items.”

But being able to phone loved ones, to dry off with a clean towel or to use a toothbrush means a lot to the soldiers — many of whom arrive in the unit with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

During a visit to Hawaii to spend time with Ryan, Zimmerer and her husband Albert learned that many soldiers don’t have personal items to make their lives more comfortable as they transition through the unit and head back to their own units or to other facilities.

Ryan’s injuries were serious. They included two broken legs and a broken tail bone.

But the young Marine does not want anyone to focus on his story, Zimmerer said.

“Ryan said he’s not a hero. He said the heros are the Marines who are out there in the theater now,” she said referring to the soldiers currently serving in places such as Afganistan.

Although they get the medical care they require, soldiers who are recovering in Hawaii are often on their own for almost everything else.

A disposable, pre-moistened wipe may substitute for a shower.

Nurse’s aids don’t stop by the rooms to bring cold drinks or to walk recuperating soldiers to the rest room.

It was during that emotional visit to the Kaneohe base that Zimmerer said she formed a plan to supply backpacks of toiletry supplies to wounded Marines.

She began by going through the chain of command, securing permission to go forward.

“We have all the approvals. We actually went through the Marine Corps for official approval (for the backpack gift project),” she said.

She isn’t in this alone.

Zimmerer said she gives a lot of credit to her business partner, Monica Lamb, with whom she owns Texas Star Embroidery.

The two women plan to raise money and supplies for the soldiers’ backpacks during a hotdog luncheon at the company’s headquarters in the Bomber Bait building on Lindsay Street.

The event is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, July 2.

Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center agreed to help put on the event.

Rhonda Beam, a marketing manager with the care center said the fund raiser event is just the kind of project she and her coworkers support.

“We decided that this was a good cause and something we wanted to help with,” Beam said.

Zimmerer noted that the item the wounded Marines request most often is a phone call.

“A lot of times their phone gets turned off, and they have to get someone to turn it back on for them. Or if they leave it in their seabag, it could be lost for a long time,” she said.

Phones are important because they are often the Marines’ sole connection to home and to loved ones.

She said her son’s experience taught her a lesson about information dissemination in the military.

“It was three days before I found out he was all right. His first e-mail to me after the accident began, “I want you to know I’m okay,’” she said.

She later received a Marine Corps announcement that her son had been wounded.

It’s the kind of fearful waiting she hopes other loved ones of wounded Marines do not have to face.

Other useful items include Subway or McDonalds gift cards.

Both restaurants are within walking district of the Wounded Warriors unit.

“That way they have an alternative besides hospital food,” Zimmerer said.

Volunteers also plan to stuff the backpacks with a towel, a razor, shaving cream, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and other hygiene items.

“Imagine you went on vacation and arrived with nothing but your clothes. What would you need? Those are the kinds of things we are looking for,” she said.

Gifts of money for postage would also be appreciated.

“It’s kind of expensive to mail the packages,” Zimmerer noted.

Marines don’t like to admit they sometimes require assistance, Zimmerer said.

“They are definitely, always Marines. My son never wanted to be anything but a Marine. There’s something about Marines. They move differently. They stand differently. Everything about them is different,” she said.

Ryan isn’t the only military man in Zimmerer’s family. Her son Joshua, who is stationed in Japan is also a Marine.

Zimmerer said she’s proud of her sons and determined to do what she can to make life easier for soldiers like her boys.

“This is just one small thing we can do for these kids. I hope this thing takes off and has a life of its own,” she said.

For information on the fund raiser or find out how to help with the Marine Backpack project call 668-2300.