DECATUR – In June 2005, Jason Braase was serving in Iraq when an explosive device detonated in front of his vehicle sending shrapnel through his right leg.
The Army veteran arrived in the United States for treatment with no personal belongings. Then he received a backpack from the Wounded Warriors Project with clothing, toiletries and other comfort items.
With a $108,000 donation from Dale's Southlake Pharmacy, Colee's Corner Drugs and their new team, Wounded Warriors will be able to fill many more backpacks and continue their efforts to support injured veterans.
“We're here for one reason,” pharmacy owner Dale Colee said at Wednesday's check presentation. “To help those who have helped us.”
Last year, the two pharmacies raised more than $90,000 for Wounded Warriors. This year, they teamed up with Doc's Pharmacies and Lehan Drugs throughout Central and Northern Illinois to increase their efforts.
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Ron Stephens, a pharmacy employee and wounded Vietnam veteran, walked a mile for every $100 raised, starting May 26. He ended at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Employees of the pharmacies new to the team this year road their bicycles 180 miles as well.
“This has never been about any of us,” Stephens said. “It's about the mission.”
The Wounded Warrior Project provides programs supporting injured veterans and their families to help with post-traumatic stress disorder, develop coping skills and transition back to civilian life.
Braase thanked them and accepted the donation on behalf of Wounded Warriors after speaking about his experiences for which he received a standing ovation.
At first, doctors weren't sure Braase would keep his leg, but after 13 surgeries and years of rehabilitation he is able to walk, run and ride a bike again.
“I am so grateful to be standing here today,” he said.
The idea came about five years ago at a Cardinal Health Foundation conference. There, Colee and his daughter, Erica Colee, learned the pharmaceutical distributor matches donations to the group.
“It just seemed like a no-brainer to do this,” Dale Colee said. “There's not anything that we can do that's too much for these men.”