Patriots to honor veterans.
Here are a couple of press releases from the Patriots about plans to honor war veterans at tomorrow's game:
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THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS TO HONOR WAR VETERANS THIS SUNDAY
Wounded warriors from both Boston and Buffalo to serve as honorary captains
Foxborough, Mass. – Before the nation pauses to remember the service of veterans everywhere on Tuesday, November 11, the New England Patriots will honor America’s soldiers past and present with a salute to the military before Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. The Kraft family has selected two war veterans, Pfc. Sean Bannon from Winthrop, Mass. and Sgt. James Hackemer from Gowanda, N.Y., to serve as honorary captains for the game. Both soldiers were critically injured while serving their country in Iraq and continue to receive treatment at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston. The soldiers will be introduced to nearly 70,000 Patriots fans prior to the game and will join the Patriots and Buffalo Bills team captains at midfield for the opening coin toss.
In addition, the Patriots will honor one of their long-time employees, George Boyajian, who is 85-years young. Boyajian is a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War and has been a fixture with the Patriots in Foxborough for the last 22 years. The Patriots will also recognize his service during pregame ceremonies on the field just prior to the presentation of the color guards and national anthem.
Keeping with a Patriotic, military-themed pregame, the color guards for the national anthem will be presented by representatives of four different branches of the U.S. armed forces. Michelle Harris, vocalist of the U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty, will sing the national anthem which will be replete with a flyover by a few Black Hawk helicopters.
The Patriots have also partnered with Raytheon to host 60 additional service men and women from the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
A press release from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is listed below to provide additional details on the two wounded warriors who will be honored tomorrow.
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New England Patriots Honor Wounded Warriors Prior to Kickoff Against the Buffalo Bills
Foxborough -- The New England Patriots will honor two wounded warriors PFC, Sean Bannon of Winthrop MA, and Sgt. James Hackemer of Gowanda New York as honorary team captains prior to the Buffalo Bills versus New England Patriots game Sunday 11/9 at 1 p.m. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital treated both soldiers and their doctors, Spaulding’s VP of medicine Dr. Ross Zafonte and Traumatic Brain Injury Program Director Dr. Heechin Chae will join them on the field as part of the ceremony.
Sean Bannon was critically wounded by an IED in Iraq. He has spent a month at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Washington, D.C before being transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to continue his recovery. Sean received a Purple Heart on April 21, Patriots Day, at Fenway Park presented to him by Senator John Kerry.
In March 2008, Army Sgt. James Hackemer was leading a patrol in his unit's armored vehicle outside of Baghdad when a road side bomb exploded directly under their vehicle. Two soldiers were killed instantly. Sgt. Hackemer lost both legs and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). With only 28 units of blood circulating in the human body, he lost 25 units. The others in his unit quickly moved in and immediately began to triage James on site until a helicopter could airlift him out. Clinging to life in a coma, James was rushed to a battlefield hospital where he was stabilized enough to be sent to the main medical facilities in Germany. He was transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital where he currently is in an intensive rehabilitation program.
Spaulding is proud to be a collaborator and resource with the military to treat these complex cases. Spaulding is the first hospital in New England and only one of a handful nationwide authorized to treat soldiers. “Spaulding is honored to be part of this event with the Patriots and the National Football League in honoring all our returning heroes. We thank the Patriots and the Kraft family for their unwavering support of our wounded warriors,” said Spaulding spokesman Tim Sullivan.
About the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network
A member of Partners HealthCare, The Spaulding Network includes its main campus, a 196-bed facility, located in Boston, MA, Shaugnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital three skilled nursing facilities: North End Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Boston Center for Rehabilitation and Sub-Acute Care, and the Clark House, as well as sixteen outpatient sites throughout the Greater Boston area. Spaulding is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School as well as the official rehabilitation hospital of the New England Patriots. Spaulding is the only rehabilitation hospital in New England continually ranked since 1995 by U.S. News and World Report in its Best Hospitals survey. For more information, please visit www.spauldingrehab.org.
Department of Defense Clinical Consortium Funding
Funded through the DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the PTSD-TBI Clinical Consortium will attempt to develop more personalized therapies by identifying predictors of favorable treatment response, in order to determine in advance which individuals will respond to which treatments: pharmacological, psychosocial, and complementary or alternative therapies. State-of-the-art technologies such as magnetic resonance neuroimaging techniques and genetic testing will be used to help researchers understand the underlying causes of impairment, and the mechanisms by which successful treatments work.
The multi-center project is part of a $300 million commitment by the DOD to “prevent, mitigate, and treat the effects of traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury on function, wellness, and overall quality of life for service members as well as their caregivers and families.”
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THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS TO HONOR WAR VETERANS THIS SUNDAY
Wounded warriors from both Boston and Buffalo to serve as honorary captains
Foxborough, Mass. – Before the nation pauses to remember the service of veterans everywhere on Tuesday, November 11, the New England Patriots will honor America’s soldiers past and present with a salute to the military before Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. The Kraft family has selected two war veterans, Pfc. Sean Bannon from Winthrop, Mass. and Sgt. James Hackemer from Gowanda, N.Y., to serve as honorary captains for the game. Both soldiers were critically injured while serving their country in Iraq and continue to receive treatment at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston. The soldiers will be introduced to nearly 70,000 Patriots fans prior to the game and will join the Patriots and Buffalo Bills team captains at midfield for the opening coin toss.
In addition, the Patriots will honor one of their long-time employees, George Boyajian, who is 85-years young. Boyajian is a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War and has been a fixture with the Patriots in Foxborough for the last 22 years. The Patriots will also recognize his service during pregame ceremonies on the field just prior to the presentation of the color guards and national anthem.
Keeping with a Patriotic, military-themed pregame, the color guards for the national anthem will be presented by representatives of four different branches of the U.S. armed forces. Michelle Harris, vocalist of the U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty, will sing the national anthem which will be replete with a flyover by a few Black Hawk helicopters.
The Patriots have also partnered with Raytheon to host 60 additional service men and women from the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
A press release from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is listed below to provide additional details on the two wounded warriors who will be honored tomorrow.
--------------------
New England Patriots Honor Wounded Warriors Prior to Kickoff Against the Buffalo Bills
Foxborough -- The New England Patriots will honor two wounded warriors PFC, Sean Bannon of Winthrop MA, and Sgt. James Hackemer of Gowanda New York as honorary team captains prior to the Buffalo Bills versus New England Patriots game Sunday 11/9 at 1 p.m. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital treated both soldiers and their doctors, Spaulding’s VP of medicine Dr. Ross Zafonte and Traumatic Brain Injury Program Director Dr. Heechin Chae will join them on the field as part of the ceremony.
Sean Bannon was critically wounded by an IED in Iraq. He has spent a month at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Washington, D.C before being transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to continue his recovery. Sean received a Purple Heart on April 21, Patriots Day, at Fenway Park presented to him by Senator John Kerry.
In March 2008, Army Sgt. James Hackemer was leading a patrol in his unit's armored vehicle outside of Baghdad when a road side bomb exploded directly under their vehicle. Two soldiers were killed instantly. Sgt. Hackemer lost both legs and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). With only 28 units of blood circulating in the human body, he lost 25 units. The others in his unit quickly moved in and immediately began to triage James on site until a helicopter could airlift him out. Clinging to life in a coma, James was rushed to a battlefield hospital where he was stabilized enough to be sent to the main medical facilities in Germany. He was transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital where he currently is in an intensive rehabilitation program.
Spaulding is proud to be a collaborator and resource with the military to treat these complex cases. Spaulding is the first hospital in New England and only one of a handful nationwide authorized to treat soldiers. “Spaulding is honored to be part of this event with the Patriots and the National Football League in honoring all our returning heroes. We thank the Patriots and the Kraft family for their unwavering support of our wounded warriors,” said Spaulding spokesman Tim Sullivan.
About the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network
A member of Partners HealthCare, The Spaulding Network includes its main campus, a 196-bed facility, located in Boston, MA, Shaugnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital three skilled nursing facilities: North End Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Boston Center for Rehabilitation and Sub-Acute Care, and the Clark House, as well as sixteen outpatient sites throughout the Greater Boston area. Spaulding is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School as well as the official rehabilitation hospital of the New England Patriots. Spaulding is the only rehabilitation hospital in New England continually ranked since 1995 by U.S. News and World Report in its Best Hospitals survey. For more information, please visit www.spauldingrehab.org.
Department of Defense Clinical Consortium Funding
Funded through the DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the PTSD-TBI Clinical Consortium will attempt to develop more personalized therapies by identifying predictors of favorable treatment response, in order to determine in advance which individuals will respond to which treatments: pharmacological, psychosocial, and complementary or alternative therapies. State-of-the-art technologies such as magnetic resonance neuroimaging techniques and genetic testing will be used to help researchers understand the underlying causes of impairment, and the mechanisms by which successful treatments work.
The multi-center project is part of a $300 million commitment by the DOD to “prevent, mitigate, and treat the effects of traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury on function, wellness, and overall quality of life for service members as well as their caregivers and families.”
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2 Comments
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Comment by Mark Farinella on November 9, 2008 at 10:06pm - I don't think the networks ever show the coin toss unless it's the Super Bowl.
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Comment by Rhonda Kinsey on November 9, 2008 at 6:29pm - After calling all over to find out where we could possibly see the game in our region, we went to a local sports bar and talked them into putting this game on their big screen for us. AND THEN THE COIN TOSS WAS NOT TELEVISED!! We had already called friends and family to let them know that my son's best friend, James Hackemer was to do the coin toss, so watch the game!! Does anybody have photos or footage that they could send us? It would be much appreciated!!
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