Game 8 – Warrior Wishes Come True In Pittsburgh

My Dad was able to catch up on sleep and hang out with X-man before having the luxury of flying out to Latrobe, PA to make Warrior Wishes Come true in Pittsburgh. We were able to score airfare for $31 so my dad didn’t have to take a 10 hour bus to get there.

Thanks to our good friend George for picking my dad up at the tiny Latrobe airport & let him stay the night, so he would be well rested to host the warriors for the Thursday night game.

Here are some of our most memorable moments from making Warrior Wishes come true over the past 3 years.

Today we had the honor of hosting Vietnam Veteran Paul Majewski (EA 3rd class USN), His son, USAF SSgt Paul Majewski & Army SPC Coban Shaw (See Bio’s Below) at the Pittsburgh Steelers game for our 9th game of our 2015 “All32in17” Mission to honor Warriors & thier legacies at all 32 NFL stadiums in 1 season.

My dad met up with the Warriors for lunch thanks to our friends at Atria’s inside of PNC park before making their way over to the Steelers stadium to tailgate & hang out with Josh, a warrior we hosted last year, George & Mr. GZ & his slathering sauce.

The guys had the opportunity to meet up with former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher before watching the Ravens take on the Steelers at Heinz Field.

We had great seats for the game, but unfortunately saw the Steelers lose in overtime to the Ravens. Despite the loss, everyone had a great time and Warrior Wishes came true!

My Dad will be back home in Chicago Friday night and back on the road Saturday to make Warrior Wishes come true in Denver & Seattle Sunday & Monday.

8 Games down & at least 24 more to go!

TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!

MEET THE WARRIORS

Army SPC Coban Shaw

Coban was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and has always been a Steelers fan. After the events on September 11th, he joined the Army to make a difference.

Coban was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. He was sent into Sadar City to work with the Iraqi Army. He served as a gunner and driver in many demolitions and combat actions.

On April 29, 2006, Coban was on his first mission outside the wire after returning from R&R, which was a bridge demolition mission. He was up on the gun when he was hit by an IED. There was no one else in the vehicle at the time, and because there was no blood, no one realized he was injured. His traumatic brain injury was not diagnosed until his deployment was over and he had returned home. Coban now has severe frontal lobe damage resulting in difficulty with focus, concentration, judgment, multitasking, etc. He also is dealing with PTSD, hearing loss to the degree that requires a hearing aid in both ears, and Periodic Paralysis.

Coban is surrounded by a loving family. His wife, Sara, & their 2 children, standing by him through everything. She even led the campaign to ensure he received his Purple Heart, which he was awarded on Valentine’s Day 2011.

Source – http://www.helpingahero.org/our-heroes/spc-coban-shaw

Paul Majewski EA (Engineers Aid) 3rd class USN

Paul Majewski joined the Navy in 1969 and was shipped off to Vietnam in early 1970. After returning he spent another year on active duty and then transferred into the reserves until 1975. After a 3 year break in service, he would then go back into service for 2 more years from 1978-1980. Majewski was nominated by his son who wanted to show his dad, who is a die hard Steelers fan, that his service did not go unnoticed and was appreciated.

SSgt USAF Paul Majewski

SSgt Paul Majewski said “Growing up my dad always taught me how to have respect for others, especially our men & women in uniform. I am so proud of my dad’s service & I always looked up to him & wanted to be just like him! He was & is my hero!”

That’s why he to enlisted to serve our country in the USAF. He served for 4 years active duty & I could see the pride his dad had for his decision, but also the worries that could come with it.

After his initial enlistment he enlisted into the Air National Guard with plans to go to college & then get commissioned & return back to active duty, but fate & 09/11/2001 would alter his plans. In early 2004 SSgt Majewski was called up for Operation Noble Eagle & augmented to work in Security Force. After a few months on those orders he volunteered to go to deploy to Iraq in the fall of 2004. A little over 2 months before he deployed to Iraq Paul was injured in the Line of Duty & suffered a back & neck injury. A few months after surgery he was medically discharged in 2005.

One thing that SSgt Majewski remembers is his dad telling him how terrible he was treated once he returned from Vietnam & he couldn’t believe it. He said there are truly no words that can express how thankful he was to Operation Warrior Wishes for helping him show his dad the proper appreciation for his service.