Friendship, courtesy and compassion for our wounded warriors
By Ken Yegan in the Mammoth Times - Diana Proemm Photos

Robin and Ken show Alroy what ski boots are all about

Alroy Billiman is an American war hero who gave his right arm in the service of our country in Iraq. I recently spent three days with him in the Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra Wounded Warriors Project, called Operation Snow Storm. I am very lucky to have met him and proud that we are friends. I want to share with you, the community of Mammoth Lakes, my experience with him. He now loves this town and the people in it.

I'll be blunt, but I think this makes the point: three arrived without a leg and Alroy arrived without an arm. These appendages were given fighting for the United States of America. Two other warriors have severe leg injuries, are still in rehabilitation, and hopefully will regain 100 percent use of their legs. These servicemen, from the Navy, Marines, Army and Coast Guard, have no bitterness whatsoever and to a man, want to return to the fight. We greeted them with open arms and open hearts, led by our resident wounded warrior, Terry Smutney, who was injured in the l99l war in Iraq.

Alroy's arm was amputated above the elbow. He told me in a rather nonchalant way how this happened. He was driving a Humvee on routine patrol when it exploded as a result of passing over a hidden bomb in the road. He saw the vehicle's metal floorboard come up and take his arm off. When pulled from the vehicle, a buddy applied a tourniquet saving his life. The servicemen have a code and a buddy system that is very important to them. They rely on reach other, and the buddy who saved Alroy's life is still in Iraq. At the time, Alroy was very worried that he would lose an eye from shrapnel injuries to his face. He said he was very lucky not to have lost an eye. He is still in rehabilitation and is in the process of being fitted with a prosthetic arm.

The first morning, I assisted Alroy in putting on his ski boots. For you skiers out there, try putting on ski boots with one arm and see how difficult this can be. When we were just about ready to hit the slopes, I reminded him that he needed to put gloves on his hands. With a smile on his face, he told me that he only needed one glove. I felt bad about my comment but he assured me that he knew I meant no disrespect.

Ken and Alroy approaching the lift

Alroy was a first time skier and so we started at the base of Discovery chair. On the lift, he told me that he was full blooded Navajo Indian, the direct descendent of medicine men in the tribe, and that he had served a three-year tour of duty without injury in Iraq before going back. I later found out that his father had given him a small bag of "medicine" to protect him in war. It was misplaced, lost or stolen shortly before he was blown up.

Alroy is athletic and picked up skiing pretty quickly. Of course, he was "off balance" due to his not having a right arm. He had to, and did, compensate for being heavy on his left side and light on his right side. We eventually progressed to chair one. He was a little worried about the skiers and boarders whizzing by at speed between the top of Chair one and Mambo where we would turn left. I told him that I would "block" for him and take a hit for him. He didn't quite understand but I explained that I would be extremely close and right behind him and if anyone was going to be run over, it would be me. There was a look on his face that I will never forget. For a very brief moment, and in a very small way, he knew that I was protecting him. You talk about a role reversal.

The Mammoth community extended such friendship and compassion to our wounded warriors that I am still in awe. At one dinner hosted by Burgers Restaurant, the warriors thanked Ed and Kathy Hurley for the enormous amount of food that they had eaten. In a spontaneous speech that brought tears to my eyes, Ed Hurley spoke eloquently to our troops. He thanked our warriors for their service and sacrifice in protecting us. He then clapped for our warriors. The Disabled Sports volunteers joined in this celebration. This was a very poignant moment. There were others. There were lots of tears at the Rotary luncheon, my own included.

This letter has nothing to do with politics, whether we should be in Iraq, or anywhere else. This letter has to do with honoring our wounded servicemen and lending them a helping hand. As Ed Hurley said, we owe these servicemen our gratitude. Alroy knows how grateful we are for his service and sacrifice. I was very lucky to have been assigned to him for three days. He is my friend and my hero. Alroy and his wife Katara had a wonderful experience in Mammoth. I am only a "half local" (Mammoth and Ventura, Calif.) but I am very proud to be a member of Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra. To each and every one of you who extended friendship, courtesy and compassion to our wounded warriors, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.