TIM PEELER: NC State To Honor Wounded Servicemen

BY TIM PEELER

RALEIGH Of the five Purple Hearts the U.S. Marine Corps wanted to give Cpl. Michael Savoie for the combat injuries he sustained in two separate incidents in Iraq, he refused to take three of them. Didn’t earn that many, he said.

Savoie, a native of Westwego, La., first arrived in Iraq on July 4, 2004. Since then, he has taken a bullet to the head, survived multiple attacks by Iraqi insurgents and lived through an improvised explosive device blast that left him with second- and third-degree burns on his face.

In two separate attacks, the first in October, 2004, and the second in January, 2006, he refused treatment until he and his unit completed their missions. The first time when he suffered a fractured skull he returned to his patrol some 19 hours after he received treatment.

Saturday, Cpl. Savoie will be the most visible of the 75 wounded soldiers and Marines who have been injured in overseas combat in attendance at Carter-Finley Stadium, as he joins NC State Chancellor James Oblinger and Brigadier General David Jennette, the Deputy Adjutant General for the North Carolina National Guard and a NCSU class of 1982 alumnus, for the pre-game coin toss at the NC State-Wofford football game.

Among the other events that will take place prior to and during Military Appreciation Day are the delivery of the game ball by the Black Daggers, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command parachute demonstration team; a C-17 flyover from Pope Air Force Base; and special on-field and video presentations that will include a National Guard Re-Enlistment Ceremony and recognition for all ROTC members and military personnel at the game.

Savoie and the other wounded soldiers and Marines will be NC State’s honored guests for Saturday’s game, provided with tickets, food and drink, and their own personal valets, courtesy of the university ROTC programs.

They will arrive by bus prior to the game and enter the stadium at 5 p.m. through the Dail Plaza, where they will be greeted by the marching band, cheerleaders and a special honor guard. Wolfpack supporters are encouraged by first-year head coach Tom O’Brien, a former Marine officer, to show their appreciation to the wounded servicemen as they enter the stadium. The Wolfpack football team will also have its own "Walk of Champions" at 3:30 p.m. at the same location.

“I would highly recommend that everybody forget the football team for a while, show up for our heroes who will be coming through the plaza and thank them for their service to our country,” O’Brien said. “It’s great that they will be able to come and participate in this game. We are lucky that we want to come and do it.”

About 45 of the wounded servicemen are Marines from Camp Lejeune, who were invited to the game through Hope for the Warriors, a private, civilian organization that enhances the quality of life for United States service members and their families who have been adversely affected by injuries or death in the line of duty.

You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.

North Carolina State University Athletics

TIM PEELER: NC State To Honor Wounded Servicemen

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