Most recently, from May 6-8, WWAST played three games in the Washington, D.C. area.  First, they took on FBI agents at George Mason University Softball Stadium, next they played Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) Personnel at WRAMC Forest Glen Annex and in their final game they faced the U.S. Naval Academy Varsity Sailing Team at the Naval Support Activity Annapolis Softball Field.

“It’s a great way for us to connect with other servicemembers who are facing similar challenges,” said Gibson. “It also gives us a chance to show the country how resilient we are. No matter what happens in combat, we can still achieve our goals at home and rise above any challenge.”

The team debuted in March at the University of Arizona (a Tillman Military Scholar University Partner) and has plans to tour the country playing softball and raising awareness. And most recently, Spanky was featured in a USO public service announcement filmed during his WWAST involvement.

Spanky joins Congressional Medal of Honor Recepient Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta in addressing the Air Force Academy cadets.

The Summit provided a unique opportunity to highlight the needs and hardships faced by military families today. Pat Tillman Foundation Board Chair Marie Tillman was joined on Capitol Hill by Arizona Senator John McCain, Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor and inaugural Tillman Military Scholars Aaron and Bonnie Contreras, William “Spanky” Gibson, Richard Garcia, Jed Hefner and Dennis Robinson in an effort to shed light on the challenges military families face.

To see a a portion of Marie Tillman’s speech, click play here:

this link

For photos from the Summit, see below.

Photos by Doug Kapustin

Among the competitors – Tillman Military Scholar, Marine Corps Master Sergeant William “Spanky” Gibson.

Four years ago yesterday, “Spanky” Gibson lost his lower left leg to a terrorist sniper’s bullet while serving in Iraq. He endured months of difficult rehabilitation and rigorous physical therapy. While recovering from his amputation, he set a goal of training for triathlons.

No stranger to this weekend’s competition, in 2007, Gibson competed in the Escape from Alcatraz Swim where he met Marine General James Mathis. Upon meeting General Mathis, his only request was…redeployment to Iraq, making him the first ever above-the-knee amputee to be redeployed to the front lines.

After his second deployment to Iraq, Gibson earned an opportunity to become the first enlisted congressional military legislative fellow. With this opportunity, Gibson and his family moved from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C.

Upon arriving in D.C. he worked for House Committee on Veteran Affairs Ranking Member Congressman Steve Buyer while enrolled at the University of Maryland – University College. He is currently working towards his psychology degree, a course of study which will aid his work with other disabled veterans. He now works at the Pentagon.

“I try to learn, increase my capabilities, minimize my limitations and try to set a good example for the younger Marines, try to help my fellow Marines,” said Gibson, 39. “That’s my life.”

For a recap of the weekend’s event and more on the Warrior Games click through to The Denver Post article by John Meyer – “Competing for new life at Warrior Games.”

The ballroom was full of beautiful people from the latest issues of all those magazines you see while standing in line at the check-out. Marie Tillman and I struggled to understand what exactly we were doing at a celebrity-filled event in downtown Manhattan and as Marie walked the red carpet – a first for her – we both shared a laugh about how just out of place we were.

“GQ Magazine” had selected the Pat Tillman Foundation to be one of the recipients of their annual “GQ Gentlemen’s Fund” charity event. We were one of four major non-profits selected with the likes of UNICEF and Oceana. We, the scrappy tiny non-profit, spending our days in a tiny office in Tempe where seven staffers are squeezed into one open room. Did we really have any business being at something like this?

Every selected organization has one official recipient that would speak on behalf of the charity and our selection of Marine Corps Master Sergeant William Gibson had been an easy one.

After losing his left leg to snipers’ bullet while serving in Iraq in 2006 Sergeant Gibson endured months of painful rehabilitation and rigorous physical therapy.

While recovering from his amputation, Master Sergeant Gibson set a personal goal of training for triathlons. In 2007, he competed in the “Escape from Alcatraz Swim”, regarded as one of – if not the most – challenging competitive swimming events in the country. While competing in the event, a Marine General, observing the event – who was so impressed with Gibson’s obvious personal strength and integrity – approached Master Sergeant Gibson, to ask him if there was anything he could do for him. Gibson had just one request…

Re-deployment to Iraq.

This request made Master Sergeant Gibson the first ever above-the-knee amputee to return to front-lines combat.

With his second deployment now completed, Gibson works on Capital Hill for the House Committee on Veteran Affairs. He is also enrolled at the University of Maryland, University College where he his pursuing his academic dream of committing the rest of his career to caring for and supporting disabled veterans and their families.

Gibson is a member of the inaugural class of Tillman Military Scholars. Last fall, the Pat Tillman Foundation was honored to award Master Sergeant Gibson his full-requested scholarship amount.

His comments upon receiving the GQ Gentlemen award were brief but as he left the stage, the audience of “beautiful people” erupted into a spontaneous standing ovation – the only one of the night.

Maybe everyone there at first didn’t recognize Master Sergeant Gibson and his wife Chaney on the red carpet, but after his remarks he was the biggest celebrity in the room.

Tillman Military Scholar William “Spanky” Gibson, Pat Tillman Foundation Chairwoman Marie Tillman and Executive Director Kadi Tierney joined a crowd of 75 people to hear Krakauer speak about his new book focused on Pat Tillman.

Guests listened to Krakauer’s account of his 5 months in Afghanistan and what he learned over the 4 years he spent working on the book. They also heard from Spanky Gibson and what being a Tillman Military Scholar means to him.

The Pat Tillman Foundation thanks the CAA for their generosity and also thanks everyone who attended the event to learn more about the work the Pat Tillman Foundation is doing to aid veterans, active servicemembers and their dependents in pursuing their educational goals.

Photos by Alberto Rodriguez. Pictured above Marie Tillman, Spanky Gibson, Sean Penn, Jon Krakauer, Ben Harper, Beau Bridges and Jason Bateman.

Biography:

Branch of Armed Services: Marine Corps
Hometown: Pryor, Oklahoma
Institution of Higher Learning: University of Maryland – University College (Adelphi, MD)
Degree Sought: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

After losing his left leg to a terrorist sniper’s bullet while serving in Iraq in 2006, U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant William “Spanky” Gibson endured months of difficult rehabilitation and rigorous physical therapy. While recovering from his amputation, Master Sergeant Gibson set a goal of training for triathlons.

In 2007, he competed in the Escape from Alcatraz Swim where he met Marine General James Mathis. Upon meeting General Mathis, Gibson’s only request was…redeployment to Iraq, making him the first ever above-the-knee amputee to be redeployed to the front lines.

After his second deployment to Iraq, Gibson earned an opportunity to become the first enlisted congressional military legislative fellow. He currently works for House Committee on Veteran Affairs Ranking Member Congressman Steve Buyer. With this opportunity, Gibson and his family moved from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C., where he has now enrolled at the University of Maryland – University College and is studying psychology, a course of study which will supplement his work with other disabled veterans.

Quote from Spanky:

“I want to spend the remainder of my life helping veterans overcome mental health problems.”