Game 19 – Warrior Wishes Come True In Atlanta!

My dad had a few days off in between making Warrior Wishes come true in Phoenix & flying out to Atlanta. He was willing to take an 18 hour bus ride for $1 to get there, but I scored airfare for less than $50 and couldn’t pass it up.

We kicked off week 8 hosting Army CWO Robert Sean Gannon, Army SGT Jason Nichols (wife,Shannon, also served in the Army for 2 years), Army Sgt Jeffrey Shonk & honoring the legacy of Lt Col Marshall Gutierrez at the Atlanta Falcons game. (Meet the Warriors below)

Here are some of our favorite memories from making warrior wishes come true in Atlanta.

Before the game my dad met up with the Warriors at CNN for a tour of their operation.

The 55-minute guided walking tour included exclusive, behind-the-scenes views of Atlanta’s CNN studios and an exciting glimpse of news and broadcasting in action from the world headquarters of the Worldwide Leader in News. The Warriors even had the opportunity to practice being a weatherman on the green screen!

A few hours before kickoff everyone made their way over to the ATLBucs tailgate for some pregame food & drinks.

We would like to thank the Atlanta Falcons for going above & beyond to help us honor these brave warriors by providing 17th row tickets to the game.

The Falcons made a great comeback to send the game into overtime, but ended up falling short to the Bucs by the score of 23-20. Despite the loss the Warriors had a great time at the game & our day wasn’t over yet.

My dad escorted the Warriors over to the players parking lot after the game. The guys had the opportunity to meet & get autographs from a lot of Falcons players including star running back Devonta Freeman! It was the perfect way to end our day.

Not only did we host heroes at 3 football games this weekend, my dad also hosted & honored 4 gold star family members of fallen hero Army SGT Philip Dodson at the Georgia Aquarium

My dad eventually jumped on the MARTA and got some rest at the Atlanta Airport before catching his early morning bus to Charlotte to make Warrior Wishes come true at the Panthers game.

We would like to thank the Atlanta Falcons for providing tickets, ATLBucs for hosting everyone at your tailgate, New Era for providing Falcons caps for the warriors, CNN for providing the tour & the Georgia Aquarium for hosting the Dodson Family. Most importantly, we would like to thank the warriors for their service and sacrifices. We truly hope you had a great time and the memories last a lifetime.

TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!

MEET THE WARRIORS

ARMY CWO ROBERT SEAN GANNON

Army CWO Robert Sean Gannon is currently a Chief Warrant Officer 2 serving as a UH-60 Blackhawk Instructor Pilot. Gannon joined the Army in 2008 and has deployed twice as an aviator to Afghanistan. He has a wife and three girls, ranging in age from 7 months to 9 years old. He & his family are currently stationed at Fort Rucker, AL where Gannon teaches primary and instrument phases of the Army’s flight school. He enjoys spending time with his family and flying aircraft in his free time

ARMY SGT JASON NICHOLS

Jason Nichols grew up in Chatsworth, GA. He enlisted in the Army after he graduated High School. After completing training for Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. Nichols deployed with the 4th Infantry Division twice- Iraq in 2008 and then Afghanistan in 2011. SGT Nichols served in the Army until 2013 and then moved back home to Georgia. He enjoys restoring and customizing vehicles and spending time with his wife and four kids.

ARMY SGT JEFFREY SHONK

Jeffrey Shonk joined the United States Army July 8th of 2008. He was stationed at Fort Stewart, GA & deployed for the first time in July of 2010.

2 months and 10 days into his first deployment on September 23rd Jeffrey, PFC Gebrah Noonan, and SPC John Carrillo were shot in their room by their roommate.

Jeffrey is the only survivor from that tragic night. He spent the next 4 years in rehab learning how to walk and talk again after being shot in the head as well as working to get back to normal once he mastered walking and talking.

Jeffrey is currently in culinary school following his second dream to become a top chef like one of his Idols Tom Keller. Jeffrey has a wife Ashley and three children with a fourth on the way.

It was an honor to host these warriors at the Falcons game and make their Warrior Wishes come true! We have now made Warrior Wishes come true at 19 NFL games this season. Follow our mission to honor heroes and keep legacies alive by providing once in a lifetime experiences at all 32 NFL stadiums in 1 season for our 4th year in a row at warriorwishes.org.