Operation Restoration & Operation Bear Hug - April 2005
A young resident of San Antonio adopts a stuffed animal in support for wounded service members.
(4/17/05) Hundreds of local residents came out to San Antonio's South Park Mall to support America’s Heroes of Freedom’s simultaneous Operation Restoration and
Operation Bear Hug endeavors in San Antonio to purchase teddy bears for wounded service members. Wounded soldiers from Wilford Hall and Brooks Army Medical Center were brought out by AHOF for a day of restoration and pampering.
This endeavor was covered by the MySA.com - San Antonio's home page from the Express News and KENS5.
Photos by David Valdez.
Hundreds of local residents came out to support AHOF¹s Operation Restoration
and Operation Bear Hug in San Antonio and purchased teddy bears for wounded
Service members.
A wounded soldier enjoys something he doesn't get everyday - a manicure! Wounded soldiers from Wilford Hall and Brooks Army Medical Center received manicures, pedicures and haircuts at San Antonio's South Park Mall.
A wounded soldier gets a haircut at the South Park Mall in San Antonio for America's Heroes of Freedom's Operation Restoration.
Wounded soldiers from Wilford Hall and Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio get haircuts at the South Park Mall for America¹s Heroes of Freedom's Operation Restoration.
Army Specialist Lisa Gutierrez enjoys getting a makeover at San Antonio's South Park Mall. Soldiers from Wilford Hall and Brooks Army Medical Center received manicures, pedicures and haircuts at the Allure Hair Design studios.
Some styling for the soldiers
Web Posted: 04/17/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Christopher Anderson, Express-News Staff Writer
Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041705.3B.makeover.1e51f1399.html
Under a hair dryer at Allure Hair Design Salon inside South Park Mall sat an uncharacteristic but enthusiastic customer.
Yeugeny Grigoryev, a burly young Army specialist wearing a T-shirt with Fort Hood emblazoned across the front, had already had his closely cropped hair stimulated with some sort of tea product.
"It's my first time in a salon, so I might as well try it all," said Grigoryev as he grinned from beneath a plastic shower cap and awaited his first-ever manicure and pedicure. "I feel great. I'm pretty sure I'm going to come out of here and feel like a million bucks."
Grigoryev, who was injured in Iraq when shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade struck his eye and ruptured his eardrums, was one of about a dozen wounded or ill U.S. troops and their spouses who were treated Saturday afternoon to all that Allure had to offer.
"We're going to have them transformed from head to toe," said owner Rosie Moncada.
The pricey military makeovers were orchestrated by America's Heroes of Freedom, a group created after 9-11 to provide items and services to the nation's injured or sick servicemen and servicewomen that they wanted or needed but were not receiving from the Pentagon or other organizations.
Susan Brewer, president and founder of America's Heroes of Freedom, said the idea for full-service salon or spa treatment of troops originated with President Bush's inauguration.
"We got a lot of the wounded ready for the commander in chief's ball," said Brewer, who explained that injured troops on medication or involved in grueling physical rehabilitation seem to enjoy a little special attention. "It was a great morale boost."
The program was originally called Operation Cinderella, but Brewer said she renamed it Operation Restoration so it wouldn't drive off any Marines or soldiers who would otherwise participate.
Brewer said many service members are open to the idea of visiting a salon or a spa and find that they enjoy a little pampering.
"I think our world's a little different. I think they realize this is therapeutic. We look at it as sort of wellness," she said. "By the same token, we're saying, 'You deserve this. We want to honor you in this way.'"
Lisa Gutierrez, an Army specialist whose left foot and leg were severely injured when they were run over by a Humvee a few months ago in Iraq, said she appreciated the pedicure she received on her good foot and having her hair done up.
"It feels really great," she said. "It's nice to be stress-free and relax and enjoy myself."
canderson@express-news.net
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Copyright © 2005 by America's Heroes of Freedom
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