Army Band Supports Amputee Softball Team Against MBPD
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) - The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team is back at it again, playing ball when they go up against the Miami Beach Police Department Saturday.
The team made up of young, athletic veterans and active duty soldiers who have lost limbs following 9/11 is here in South Florida for a few games. Their common bond: Everyone is a war veteran who sacrificed themselves in Iraq or Afghanistan.
On Saturday at 8 p.m., they're taking on the MBPD, and they're getting support. The 13th Army Band will play between the games and in a ceremony prior to the game.
A parade will run from Ridgewood Drive, through Circle Park Drive to Commerce Avenue. The concert will be at the Highlands County Courthouse, 590 South Commerce Avenue.
On Friday, the first game was held at Flamingo Park.
Saul Bosquez, a former college baseball player, resided over third base for the team.
"I was in a humvee when I got hurt," he said. "It hit our vehicle and took out my leg."
More than $2 million in prosthetics helps these players step up to bat.
"We don't stop," Bosquez said. "I mean, we've had quiet a few come back wins. There's times when we've been down 10 or 12 rounds…came back tied it up and won the game."
One game wasn't good enough for the team, so that's why the City of Miami Beach, City of Miami, City of Hialeah, and Miami Dade Police Departments as well as Miami Beach Fire Department are competing for the "HONOR" to play against the WWAST.
"I don't think we've can do enough for the sacrifices that these young men have made," chief Ray Martinez with the MBPD said.
They are sacrifices the men said they wouldn't take back, just one day after the war in Iraq ended.
"If you asked any guy they wouldn't have any regret on what they did and what had happened," Bosquez said. "I guarantee every single guy would go back in a heart beat if we needed to or if the country needed us."
As the official military band of Florida, unit members of the 13th Army Band performed for many official State functions, such as the Governor's Inauguration, official visits of United States dignitaries including the President of the United States, and numerous foreign leaders.
The concert is free to the public. The softball game seats are a $10 donation to the Wounded Warriors.
