Tampa Mayor Hosts Military Appreciation Concert
Monday, August 02, 2010
Tampa (July 31) -- Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio hosted
a Military Appreciation Concert at the Tampa  Convention Center paying
tribute to the men and women serving in the military and for those who have
served in the past. Guests included active duty military personnel
serving at MacDill Air Force Base and their families as well as military
personnel recovering at the James A. Haley VA hospital.
Singer/songwriter Theresa Sareo opened the show with several
moving songs, including "Through a Soldier’s Eyes,” which she wrote after her
first visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She is the recipient of a
Walter Reed Medal of Strength and Courage – a medal given to wounded soldiers,
although Sareo is not a soldier.
Sareo was standing on the corner of 34th and Park
Avenue in New York City on June 11, 2002, when an SUV making an illegal U-turn
was struck by a taxi causing the SUV to lose control and slam into her.
Sareo was struck so hard the trauma surgeon later described her wound to a
blast injury – "as if a grenade had gone off in her pocket.” In a coma
for five days, Sareo awoke to find that she had lost her right leg.
"When I lost my leg, I thought my life and certainly my
career were over,” she explained to the Tampa audience.
During her first year of recovery she was watching the news
coverage of troops coming back from war with traumatic amputations and she was
inspired to make a difference in the lives of wounded warriors. However,
it wasn’t until 2007 that she was ready, physically and mentally, to be able to
talk wounded military personnel.
Since then, she has made it her personal mission to visit
wounded troops, especially amputees, to share her story and hear their
story.
During her performance she went into the crowd to greet the
wounded troops.
Joining Sareo, were two other incredible performers.
Nashville songwriter Angela Lashley, mother of an American soldier, performed
her song dedicated to her son, "So Brave.” Singer/songwriter Marcus Guy
performed his song, "A Soldier’s Song.”
The event also raised funds for three military charities,
including the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
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