QUINN URGES SUMMER TRAVELERS TO HELP WOUNDED HEROES Frequent flyers can donate unused miles to help reunited wounded heroes with their families!

PEORIA -Today, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn urged 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 wounded military men and women.


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 Marine CPL Tyler (Ty) Ziegel from Metamora, Illinois. On December 22, 2004, CPL Ziegel was horribly injured when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives. The next day - two days before Christmas - Fisher House flew his parents, Jeff and Becky Ziegel, his brother Zachary Ziegel, and his fiancé Renee Kline to his bedside at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

CPL Ziegel's injuries included third degree burns over his face, head and arms, a broken jaw, and shrapnel to the brain. He also suffered the loss of most of his nose, both ears, and vision in his right eye. His left hand and three fingers on his right hand were amputated. After nearly 30 surgeries, Lance CPL Ziegel is credited with a miraculous recovery.

"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 wind up our family vacations, I encourage everyone in Illinois to donate some of their unused frequent flyer miles to this excellent cause."

Quinn also described his trip to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the U.S. Military Hospital in Germany, where he visited with U.S. soldiers injured in the Global War on Terror. At the U.S. Army's invitation, Quinn toured the Medical Center and other facilities two weeks ago.

"Landsthul Regional Medical Center is the premier trauma center in the world and the first place our wounded heroes visit for treatment," Quinn said. "Witnessing the way these dedicated doctors and nurses care for our men and women in uniform is an awe inspiring experience."

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.

Through Operation Hero Miles, airline tickets are available for families of military or Department of Defense civilian employees injured during military service anywhere in the world. These tickets can be used only for travel related 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.