Game 31 – Warrior Wishes Come True In Indy!

After an emotional, fun filled Saturday night hosting warriors in Nashville at Predators hockey game , it was “Back To Football” on Sunday morning.

An overnight drive – instead of usual overnight bus (Thanks Bill)- and a couple hours of sleep and we were ready to make Warrior Wishes Come True with Sgt Matthew Commons and his family at our 2nd Colts game of the year.

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This weekend is a great example -in a couple of ways – of how we hope Operation Warrior Wishes continues to grow. First with the volunteers who want to get involved in what we have created – last night Keith was our Nashville ambassador and helped set up great event . And Bill has become very reliable when needing a driver instead of overnight bus, As well as big help with the events themselves. But probably what we are most proud of, is the way our nation’s military heroes help us make warrior wishes come true by nominating their comrades and battle buddies, which allows us to host and honor even more heroes.

Here are some of our favorite memories from making Warrior Wishes come true in Indy!

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Today we had the pleasure and honor of hosting Sgt Matthew Commons and his family , thanks to a nomination by Sgt Matt Bowman- who was our Indianapolis Colts guest in 2012.

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We kicked off our day, getting to know the Commons family-Sgt Commons, his wife and son Landon,and his brother Michael , who also serves our country -at Whole Foods for breakfast.  Ironically, this is the same place we started 3 years ago with Sgt Bowman. Whole Foods has been a big supporter of our mission all 3 years and provides us with not only breakfast or lunch, but also a nice environment to get to know our warriors before heading to the stadiums – and sometimes even a convenient parking spot . 

After breakfast and presenting our warriors with a few letters written by kids from Clinton School back home, and New Era Colts hats to his family then we headed to Lucas Oil Stadium.

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When our warriors have kids with them , we always do some of the kid activities outside the stadium and the Colts have a very kid friendly pre game set up.  However we still went inside stadium early enough to get a few photos down by the field , and got a little added bonus when former Colt Gary Brackett literally jumped up on the wall, like a Lambeau Leap, to sign autographs for a few fans including Matthew and his son .

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We all hung out in that first row down by field for awhile , before heading up to our seats – but first, our friend Bill added a little bonus for our warriors , buying them both a 2nd hat – a Colts military appreciation hat of their choice.

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Sgt Commons & his family Cheered on his Colts to a victory as the Colts defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-12.  Another mission accomplished!!!

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We would like to thank Whole Foods for providing a delicious meal before the game, New Era for providing Colts caps & Bill for providing transportation.  Together we make warrior wishes come true!

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We have now made Warrior Wishes come true at 31 NFL games this season.  My dad will be taking an overnight bus from indy while I get to experience my first $1 overnight megabus this season and we will meet up first thing in the morning in Cleveland to make warrior wishes come true at the Browns Monday night game.

ARMY SGT MATTHEW COMMONS
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Sergeant (ret.) Matthew Commons served in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan in 2009-10 and 2012. On May 23, 2012 Sgt Commons stepped on a Pressure Plate IED that resulted in an amputation in March of 2013. He retired in May of last year.
ARMY SGT MICHAEL COMMONS
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Sergeant  Michael Commons joined the Army in 2011 and serves in the 2nd Infantry Division. He was deployed from Nov. 2011-Nov. 2012 to Afghanistan.