Whitefish welcomes wounded warriors

From welcome ceremonies with the Montana Patriot Guard to adaptive skiing and dining in top restaurants, eight injured veterans and their guests have received the royal treatment in Whitefish.

They came from various parts of the country on a trip organized and sponsored by the national Wounded Warrior Project, with help from many local sponsors, veterans and volunteers.

Though all severely wounded, several of the veterans continue to serve in the military and some face more surgeries. One is scheduled for a leg amputation after this trip.

A jam-packed schedule kept the veterans entertained in the midst of the Whitefish Winter Carnival. After settling in Wednesday at Grouse Mountain Lodge, they took groomer tours at Whitefish Mountain Resort, then were hosted to a dinner at Cafe Kandahar with speaker Brig. Gen. John E. Wash of the Montana National Guard.

A dinner reception was held Thursday at the Iron Horse Clubhouse. The event featured former CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier, a guest of Wounded Warriors, speaking about the 2006 car bombing in Iraq in which she was severely injured and her cameraman, sound man, an Army officer and his translator were killed.

On Thursday and Friday, the resort's adaptive ski instructors provided special equipment and assistance that allowed those with missing limbs to go down the slopes on skis or on a seat mounted on two skis called a bi-ski. The veterans making this trip are:

• Brian McGuire, an Army veteran of two deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan, was injured in June of 2010. After stepping on an improvised explosive devise, he required a below-the-knee amputation on his left leg and a partial foot amputation and ankle reconstruction on his right leg. He came to Whitefish with his wife, Brandy, who was his nurse in Germany when he was there for medical care.

• Mark Vomund, a highly trained Special Forces soldier with multiple combat tours, traveled here with his brother Paul. Vomund was wounded in an explosion that brought him his second Purple Heart, but ended his career as a Green Beret. He holds five Bronze Stars along with his two Purple Hearts.

• Tom Rollason, a veteran of both the Navy and Army, has served for more than 15 years with eight deployments including three in combat. He received catastrophic injuries in an IED explosion in 2009 that caused the vehicle he was in to roll over. It killed his driver and paralyzed his gunner. He faces three more operations, including the amputation of his right leg. His wife Sandee traveled with him.

• Mike Clark, a veteran of the Navy and Army, deployed to Bosnia in 1995 and was commissioned as an Army lieutenant in 2002. He was injured in Afghanistan in 2005, then transferred to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2006 when he was again injured in a training exercise in 2010. He continues to serve with the Guard. His wife Kelly came with him on this trip.

• Vernon Vanderhoef, a retired Army Master Sergeant, served two deployments to Iraq during which he suffered injuries to his neck, lower back and right shoulder, as well as post traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

• Thomas "Billy" Costello, a staff sergeant in the Army, serves with the 3rd Special Forces Group (airborne). In Afghanistan in September 2011, he stepped on an IED that took his right leg off through the knee, broke his left leg and injured both hands. His healing continues. Costello came to Whitefish with his wife Jennifer and two sons.

• Dustin Riblett, an Army veteran, was classified as a chemical specialist but served as a 50-caliber gunner during his deployment to Iraq in 2006 to 2007. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and two herniated discs when his Humvee ran over an IED. Riblett works in a VA vocational rehabilitation department as he takes college courses.

• Brian Porter, a master sergeant, has served in the Army since 1986. He volunteered for airborne training and joined the 75th Ranger Regiment, making a combat jump into Panama in 1989. He later became a combat dive instructor and then volunteered for Special Forces and was selected for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in North Carolina where he continues to serve.

In March of 2004 in Iraq, his vehicle in a convoy was struck by an IED during an ambush and he was hit in the face with shrapnel. His injuries required 28 surgeries, including 23 facial reconstructive surgeries and four dental surgeries.

He pays tribute to his wife Shawn for staying by his side through his painful surgeries and blending his food as he recovered from oral injuries. She traveled here with him along with their two children.

"For the last seven years, I have been able to stay with my unit and continue with my medical care and recover from my surgeries," Porter wrote in his biography for this event. "I've been able to deploy back to Iraq for two more deployments and operate back on the team."

Rollason, the soldier facing a leg amputation, displayed a similar determination not to let his injuries stop him from achieving goals.

"My wife and I enjoy shooting guns and doing all kinds of outdoor activities," he said. "Neither of us know how to ski but we are anxious to learn."

Clark also expressed his appreciation for the trip. He said he and his wife rarely get to spend time alone together with young children ages 4 and 19 months, so the trip was a welcome special vacation for them.

"It is also an opportunity for me to spend time with other service members that have many of the same invisible injuries that I am suffering from," he said.

Costello said he was looking forward to the trip for "the challenge and confidence to keep pushing myself mentally and physically." He said this marks his first trip back to the slopes with his new snowboarding leg.

Other events including the warriors were a Bierstube dinner party, the Penguin Plunge, lunch at the Whitefish VFW, a ride in the Winter Carnival parade, snowmobiling, a horse-drawn sleigh ride, Super Bowl party and dinner at McGarry's Roadhouse at 6 tonight.

The entourage leaves on Tuesday.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.