Thieves can’t stop Wounded Warriors

There must a special judgment awaiting those who steal those little collection jars you see for various charities on the counters in businesses. If there isn’t, there should be. Imagine the reckoning facing the thief or thieves who snatched a snowmachine set to represent our wounded veteran servicemen and women in the pro class of the upcoming Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race.

As unbelievable as it seems, someone swooped into the Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill parking lot on the night of Jan. 29 while one of the two team members was there briefly collecting sponsorship donations, disconnected the locked trailer and drove off with the yellow 2007 Ski-Doo XRS, trailer and all. The trailer was recovered on Seldon Road Extension, but the yellow racing machine with a black cowling covered with “Team Wounded Warrior” stickers has yet to be located.

Team members Charles Potter and James Hastings said they won’t be thwarted by the theft. They’d already lost two snowmachines and had another damaged in a vehicle accident. They bounced back from that setback and won’t be sidelined by this act of utter selfishness.

Their goal is to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warriors program, an organization in which veterans help other veterans. To show being wounded can’t kill a person’s spirit one Wounded Warrior, 24-year-old racer Potter of Wasilla, will compete after his own experience as a wounded soldier. Potter was seriously injured in Iraq when grenades flew into his military vehicle. It took about three and a half years of medical treatment, but Potter is ready to race.

And no one, not even a despicable thief, is going to throw him off track.

We applaud the resolve of Potter and his racing partner, retired U.S. Army officer James Hastings, to race to raise awareness of and funds for Wound Warriors and all the organization represents, despite their many setbacks. As Potter told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, these setbacks pale in comparison to what he endured during and after the attack in Iraq.

We hope Wasilla Police will recover the snowmachine in time for it to be used in the race, which starts Feb. 10. Perhaps the thief or thieves will have an attack of conscious and leave the machine somewhere it could be recovered by the owners. If anyone has a lead on the machine, they should call the Wasilla Police Department at 352-5401 or Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333.

We are certain that, with or without that yellow Ski-Doo, Team Wounded Warrior will rev over the 2,000-mile trail without looking back. For Potter and Hastings, what matters is the future, and the help and inspiration they can provide their fellow veterans.