Military veteran and CORT’s Group VP of Operations Rick Walker was recently part of a very special pre-screening of the hit movie, “American Sniper,” the story of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The pre-screening event was hosted by The Warfighter Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Rick’s son Spencer.
Spencer is a U.S. Marine Corp combat veteran who served with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment in Afghanistan. After his combat tours, Spencer experienced some difficulty adjusting to civilian life, as many veterans do, so Spencer started an organization to help combat vets with the transition. The goal of The Warfighter Foundation is to utilize physical activities to help relieve the stress and emotional challenges that soldiers often experience after deployments in war zones.
As part of its mission, The Warfighter Foundation hosts a number of activities throughout the year including their annual “100-mile Warriors Hike” and the upcoming “Combat Everest” trek across 65 miles of Tibet. Additionally, they have hosted pre-screenings of movies that honor the memories of fallen warriors such as last year’s hit “Lone Survivor” and, most recently, “American Sniper.” For this year’s screening event, members of Chris Kyle’s family were special guests and Chris’ brother Jeff was a featured speaker.
An active-duty Marine for eight years, Jeff spoke about Chris’ love of country, devotion to duty, and the sacrifices he made for both. Other special guests included two Gold Star Mothers, the moms of Navy Seals lost to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as several Navy SEALs who served alongside Chris.
A silent auction during the event raised several thousand dollars to benefit “America’s Mighty Warriors,” a Navy Seal charitable organization run by Navy Seal Marc Lee’s mom, Debbie Lee. The engagement where Mark lost his life is briefly depicted in the film.
If you would like to learn more about The Warfighter Foundation, please visit www.warfighterfoundation.org.
