Combat-injured veterans taking part in this year’s Soldiers Ride cruise past the White House playground on Thursday at the Wounded Warrior Project’s kick-off ceremony for the annual event. (Leo Shane III / S&S)
WASHINGTON — More than 40 combat-injured servicemembers took a spin around the White House’s South Lawn on Thursday at the kickoff for the annual Soldier Ride, an event designed to highlight the challenges wounded veterans face.
President Barack Obama cheered the riders on, along with a boisterous crowd of family, friends and fellow servicemembers.
"Today’s riders once faced down the possibility they might never have an active lifestyle again," Obama said.
"But now they choose to prove life isn’t about what you can’t do, it’s about what you can. They choose to keep fighting for their brothers and sisters, to show them they’re not alone."
The ride, now in its sixth year, was started by New York resident Chris Carney, who rode coast to coast on his bike in an effort to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Two years ago, the organization began hosting regional rides and enlisting larger groups of veterans and civilians, with the same goal of raising awareness of the challenges and costs that returning wounded face.
This weekend the group will bike from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., to the state capital, Annapolis, then back.
Organizers said that along with showing civilians the challenges injured veterans face, the ride also shows the wounded troops what they can accomplish despite their injuries.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, also on hand Thursday, admitted to the crowd that when he first took over as his job two years ago, he was nervous about meeting with injured troops.
"I didn’t know if I could handle it," he said.
"People told me, ‘You don’t understand — they will lift you up.’ They did.
"And they still do every time I visit."
