Posted on 02/25/2007 7:41:28 PM PST by 68skylark
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE - Weakened by his lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis, 14-year-old Riley Woina dreams of being strong like the war heroes he watches in movies.
The Army's 6th Ranger Training Battalion on Eglin Air Force Base recently helped him realize this unusual dream.
Susan Woina joked that her son could have taken his Plymouth, Conn., family to Walt Disney World or gone on a shopping spree through the Make-A-Wish Foundation instead of spending a week crawling in the mud with soldiers in the Florida Panhandle.
Inspired by his favorite movies, Black Hawk Down and the HBO World War II series Band of Brothers, Riley researched the 6th Ranger Training Battalion.
Riley said he couldn't think of anything better - not even visiting a chocolate factory - than seeing Camp James E. Rudder, where Rangers face their final and most difficult training challenges.
The 80-pound teen, weakened by his degenerative illness, said what he likes most about the Rangers is "their determination to leave no man behind."
Cystic fibrosis causes a buildup of a thick mucus that makes breathing difficult and inhibits absorption of nutrients, stunting growth. Riley takes nutritional supplements, respiratory medications, uses an inhaler and sleeps with a special vest that helps to shake up and clear out the mucus in his lungs while he sleeps.
Riley is the first child to ask Make-A-Wish to visit a Ranger camp, said Capt. Jeremiah Cordovano, a spokesman for the 6th Ranger Battalion.
The crew presented Riley with his own flight suit, a "U.S. Army Air Ambulance Detach" patch and his pilot's wings.
They also helped him radio his mom from the helicopter while hovering above the beach.
"Mom, this is Riley, this is awesome," he said.
"Riley, I'm glad you're having a good time," she said.
On picture 5 in the slideshow the kid is sporting a blackeye he got during training--the kid looked like he was so proud of that black eye. Good for him and a great story.
Maybe we can send this to Rep. McDermott?
“It’s a way of life for them; they are the ones that signed up for it so it’s their fault,” he said to the chuckles of the Rangers around him.
This kid is something else. I will bet the Gunny on the History Channel is partially responsible for this absolutely brilliant remark.
Personally I would like to hear him throw in the term 'maggot' in there... maybe he did but they edited it out.
I have an 11 year old boy who would TOTALLY, HANDS DOWN pick being a soldier over disney!
We need more stories like this and less about such abnormalities as Britney Spears at al.
What a great story! Thanks for posting. Brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks for posting this touching story.
God Bless this young man, and the Rangers.
They've done an incredible thing, and such as this does not go unrewarded.
Great story...I wish the kid the best... brought tears to my eyes.....at 14 he's probably tougher then me
Bump for an awesome story.
My monitor went blurry about 1/2 way through the article. It got better until I got down to the pictures, and then it went blurry again.
God bless Riley, his family, and the Rangers. Great story. Great child.
"something in my eye" ping
What a great kid. May God bless him, his family, the Army Rangers, the Make A Wish Foundation and all those who helped in making a very special wish come true for this child.
What a great story - and it's wonderful that the Rangers made him part of the team. God bless them all; we pray for the safety of our troops and the success of their mission.
Just plain Damn.....what a story. Even a hardened cynical guy like myself is fighting back a tear on this one.
No kidding...same here. Every once in a while a bitter sweet story like this pops up and zings ya. Great kid with great parents no doubt
Thanks for the ping. Great story. I'll send this to Matt. I'd rather not spoil the thread with my personal thoughts about so called represenatative McD
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