The D-Backs Make Warrior Wishes Come True!
My dad got an unusual “day off” yesterday after hosting heroes at the ESPYS. But to be honest with you, my dad doesn’t really take days off – he works every waking moment on getting ready for the next event to make more warrior wishes come true.
Today was no different as he worked all day on his “day off” in LA to finalize plans for the final few games on our Battlefields to Ballfields Mission in Phoenix, San Diego, Anaheim, Oakland and Seattle. He also worked on some details for our upcoming NFL “ALL32IN17” mission.
Just before midnight, my dad hopped on another overnight Greyhound bus and headed to Phoenix to make warrior wishes come true at the Arizona Diamondbacks game.
As we have mentioned often, we are proud to be able to stay in touch with most of our previous warriors – and occasionally invite them to second event when in town when we don’t have any outstanding nominations. This was the case Friday night as Army Sgt Josh Goddard and his wife Janeen joined us at the game.
My dad arrived in Phoenix around 7am. The Goddards actually picked him up from Greyhound station. It was already 109 degrees at noon!!! But it is a”dry heat” as they say…but still scorching hot! They made a little pit stop at Bass Pro Shop on the way to their early 3:00 dinner at Game Seven Grill.
For the second straight year, Game Seven Grill helped us make warrior wishes come true by providing a delicious Pre Game meal for the Warriors. Game Seven Grill is only open on game days, and is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat before the game as It is located right across the concourse from Chase Field.
Unfortunately a last minute cancellation sent my dad into panic mode as we never want tickets to go unused, we know there are plenty of Warriors out there, so my dad hit the phone & was able to get hold of Army Warrior and current National Guard,Juston Doherty to join us as well.
You may recognize his name, as he and Joaquin, both Phoenix area firefighters, set up the fire truck ride to the Arizona Cardinals game for the Warriors a couple years ago .
After dinner we took a few photos and then headed into the stadium. Our seats were on the outfield pavilion, similar to the “Green Monster” seats at Fenway Park in Boston, but not quite that high or iconic. But Josh’s reaction said it all “These Seats Are Awesome”.
Since Juston was Invited last minute, he and Kendra arrived a few minutes late. Josh and Juston shared stories and really hit it off well. Juston may even help Josh with a couple home repair projects that are on his wife’s “honey do” list.
The game itself was a very exciting one with a lot of offense , but did not go DBacks way as they fell short to the Dodgers by the score of 13-7. Chris Taylor hit his first career homer for the Dodgers, a Grand Slam in this action packed game .
Operation Warrior Wishes would like to thank Reggie at Game Seven Grill for the PreGame meal ( and air conditioning), New Era Cap for the awesome D-Backs caps and the Arizona Diamondbacks for providing another amazing experience!
TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!
And as always , most importantly THANK YOU to Sgt JoshuaGoddard and Sgt Juston Doherty (as well as Sgt Lammers who could not make it ) for their service to our great country.
We’d like to close this post with a text my dad received from Janeen after the game that pretty much says it all , and why we continue to make warrior wishes come true! “You truly are a blessing to our family!”
My dad will be on another overnight bus tonight heading back to San Diego to make warrior wishes come true at the Padres game tomorrow night. Stay tuned for details!
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