After a crazy week of making warrior wishes come true at the Cardinals, Rangers, Astros, Royals & Cubs games, my dad made his way home for just a few hours before heading north to Minnesota.  

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My dad has a passion for giving back to the brave men and women who defend our country.  All year long he’s on the road making wishes come true at Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey & other events across the country.  

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But days like this can be tough on him. He arrived home in Chicago from an 8 day bus road trip at 1pm.  He had just enough time to clean up, say hi to the family, had lunch and repacked before heading back downtown at 9:30pm to catch another overnight bus to Minnesota for the Thursday afternoon Twins game.  

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Our schedule is crazy!  But my dad says “getting to see the warriors smile makes it all worth it!”  

Although we have made wishes come true in Minneapolis multiple times, this will be the first Twins game we have ever done!  

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Today we are honored to be hosting Navy Seabee’s Brandon & Ross Garske along with  Army SSG Josh Hays & Sgt Jacob Huncel.  Both Brandon & Josh have been guests of ours before.  

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My dad arrived in Minneapolis at around 8:00 am.  The megabus literally dropped him off at the stadium.  

My dad had everyone meet at corner of 3rd & 5th located right across from stadium. They took some really cool pictures before heading inside.  

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We normally treat the warriors to a delicious meal before the game, but since today’s game started at noon & everyone drove from more than 2 hours away, we set up dinner after the game instead.  

My dad enjoyed catching up with Brandon & Josh.  He also enjoyed getting to know  Brandon’s parents as well as SGT Huncel before the game.  

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I was able to score Front Row seats in the bleachers aka “the Home Run Porch.”  Everyone got to enjoy he great seats on a beautiful Sunny 70 degree day in Minnesota.  It was a perfect day for a ball game!  

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Unfortunately, the Twins got off to a rough start as the A’s jumped out to a 4-0 lead.  The warriors quickly learned why the called this section the Home Run Porch when the Twins hit back to back homers in the second inning!  Both balls landed nearby.  

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The game stayed close until the eighth inning when the A’s pulled away and went up 8-3.  The Twins didn’t give up and made things interesting when Eduardo Escobar hit a towering Blast that again just missed the Home Run Porch.  The 2 run home run cut the lead to 3.  

In between innings, Right Fielder Kris Davis threw a Warm Up ball into the stands.  The fan just to the Warriors left got it. They had been talking to this fan the whole day, and as game was coming to a close, he gave Josh the ball to give to his 6 year old son.  

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The Twins loaded the bases in 9th inning &  had a chance for a walkoff win, but a strikeout ended the game…  despite the loss, everyone had a great time!  

After the game, everyone walked over to the Hewing Hotel to get a bite to eat at the Tullibee Restaurant.  The Tullibee is a unique Minneapolis restaurant & bar inspired by the bounty of Minnesota’s woods & lakes.  We want to thank Ron at the restaurant for hosting everyone for a delicious meal after the game!  

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Operation Warrior Wishes would also like to thank New Era for providing the Twins caps for the warriors!

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TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!

Most importantly, we want to thank Army SSG Joshua Hays, Army Sgt Jacob Huncel and to retired father and son Navy Veterans Brandon and Ross Garske for their service & sacrifices to our country. 

We will be teaming up with Globe Life insurance to make Warrior Wishes Come True this weekend with Bubba Wallace’s  pit crew at Talledega Raceway!  Stay tuned for more details!

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Nominate your Hero for an upcoming game on our “Battlefields to Ballfields” mission.  

2017 Battlefields To Ballfields Schedule