Enterprise lawyer runs for injured friend

When the 34th Annual Marine Corps Marathon kicks off at 8 a.m. today in the nation’s capital, an Enterprise man will be among the thousands participating in the fifth largest marathon in the United States.

Chad Stewart of Enterprise will be among those at the start of “The People’s Marathon,” a 26.2 mile course through Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va.

“In another life,” the son of Joe Paul and Gayle Stewart has run races, he said in his offices at the law firm of Marsh, Cotter & Stewart. “Some training and a lot of prayer” is how he said he has prepared for this race.

Stewart is running for a purpose. With the Team Hope For The Warriors, his goal is to raise money in honor of his friend, Marine Lt. Col. Benjamin T. “Ty” Edwards and to raise public awareness of the group.

Established in 2006, Hope For The Warriors was founded by two military wives when one of their husbands was severely wounded in Iraq after shrapnel from a mortar attack left him with a traumatic brain injury. Hope for The Warriors serves as an advocate of Wounded Warriors and their families whose network of support may not be sufficient or accessible as warranted by their injuries, Stewart said.

The mission of Hope for the Warriors is to enhance quality of life for American service members and their families nationwide who have been adversely affected by injuries or death in the line of duty, he said. “Hope for the Warriors actively seeks to ensure that the sacrifices of wounded and fallen warriors and their families are never forgotten nor their needs unmet, particularly with regard to the short and long-term care of the severely injured.”

Edwards was injured Oct. 18, 2008, when his convoy of five American humvees and six Afghan National Army trucks moved out of Forward Operating Base Bostick, which is a joint Army and Marine base less than one mile from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. During an enemy attack, Edwards was shot in the head. He was still in a coma, but was stable enough to be transported to Germany after the attack and then he was transported to a military hospital in Bethesda, Md. He continues his recovery from the traumatic brain injury at the VA Medical Center in Tampa, Fla., with his wife and two children by his side.

Funds raised by Stewart will support Hope For The Warriors programs. Among the many programs it supports, Team Hope For The Warriors is sponsoring nine injured heroes to compete on adaptive hand cycles in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon today.

Stewart first met Edwards when he was living in Montgomery and Edwards was stationed at the Air Force Air War College there. Their wives became friends and the families were soon spending a lot of time together. When Edwards suffered his head wound last year, Stewart’s wife set up a Caring Bridge page on the Internet for the family and participated in a bike ride to raise funds.

“It is my privilege to run with the Hope for the Warriors Team in honor of my friend Ty’s costly sacrifice for our country,“ said Stewart, who has raised $500 to date. “Supporting this most worthwhile cause is a very small way of saying thanks to Ty and others like him who have given so much for the rest of us.“

Tax deductible donations for Hope For The Warriors can be made through the National Combined Federal Campaign or sent to:
Hope for the Warriors
PMB 48
1335 Suite E, Western Blvd.
Jacksonville, NC 28546