Press Release - Sunday, August 06, 2006
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DURING THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER TRAVEL SEASON FREQUENT FLYERS CAN DONATE UNUSED MILES TO HELP REUNITE WOUNDED HEROES WITH THEIR FAMILIES!
CHICAGO - Today Lt. Governor Pat Quinn asked summer travelers to donate some of their unused frequent flyer miles to Operation Hero Miles - a national program providing free airline tickets to family members of military men and women injured in the Global War on Terror.
"Thanks to Operation Hero Miles, family members can fly free to military hospitals around the world, to sit beside our wounded heroes and offer their love and support in person," Quinn said. "Here on the homefront, as we plan our August business trips and family vacations, I encourage everyone in Illinois to donate some of their unused frequent flyer miles to this excellent cause."
Operation Hero Miles is administered by Fisher House, a not-for-profit foundation that provides a "home away from home" at little or no cost for family members of military men and women receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers around the world.
Quinn was joined by Mike Gonzalez of Glen Ellyn, father of Army SPC David Gonzalez. On Memorial Day of this year, Gonzalez, 22, was serving his country in Iraq when a bomb went off under his vehicle on a Baghdad road. Critically injured by the bombing, David was airlifted to safety -- first to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, then to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Within just a few days, his parents, Mike and Katherine Gonzalez, were at his bedside.
Today, David Gonzalez remains partially paralyzed from the waist down, but he and his doctors at the new Spinal Cord Injury Center at Hines VA Hospital say he is recovering well. Thanks to excellent medical care and his family's support, he is looking forward to a long and productive life.
To help the families of brave men and women like SPC Gonzalez, Quinn is encouraging the people of Illinois to remember our military heroes by donating some of their unused frequent flyer miles to the Hero Miles program.
"Fisher House has helped to provide free round-trip airline tickets and comfortable accommodations for more than 100 Illinois family members as we helped these injured military men and women regain their strength," Quinn said. "As we enjoy summer vacations with those we love, let's thank our wounded heroes for their service by helping to reunite them with their families."
To date, Fisher House has provided more than 6,000 round-trip tickets, worth more than $7 million, to the families of wounded service members. Thanks to Operation Hero Miles, those families have been able to visit their loved ones in military hospitals including Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C.; Brooke Army Medical Center; Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland; and Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany.
Airline tickets are available for families of military or Department of Defense civilian employees injured as a result of their military service anywhere in the world. These tickets cannot be used for any travel unrelated to a medical condition.
Operation Hero Miles has partnered with the following air carriers:
· United Airlines
· Alaska Airlines
· America West Airlines
· Delta Air Lines
· Midwest Airlines
· Northwest Airlines
· US Airways
For more information on how to donate frequent flyer miles and help our heroes, visit www.OperationHomefront.org.
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