President Bush host annual golf tournament for wounded veterans

Wounded warriors from around the country gathered Monday to play golf on the same course where the pros played over the weekend.

The Bush Institute’s Warrior Open is a competitive 36-hole golf tournament that honors post 9/11 service members who were seriously wounded or injured. They are playing at the AT&T Byron Nelson’s new home at the Trinity Forest Golf Club in southern Dallas.

The Warrior Open hopes to draw attention to the service, sacrifice and resilience of these men and women and their families, particularly the issues they face while transitioning to civilian life.

Retired Marine Corps Col. Matthew Amidon joined Good Day to talk about the tournament.

“Our work at the Bush Institute on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush is to help those who have a little bit of difficulty transitioning to civilian life. The way we do that is through a couple of employment programs, health and wellbeing and right now today we’re celebrating our Team 43 program and our golf tournament,” he said.

“It’s not about golf. It’s the comradery in between the guys. When we leave the military we lose the comradery that we’ve built over the years that we were in the military together. This allows us to meet one another on the outside of the military and build another comradery on the golf course,” said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Andrew Batchelder.

The Warrior Open is in its seventh year but this is the first year of its partnership with the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Former First Lady Laura Bush also spoke to the spouses and caregivers of the veterans participating in the event.

LINK: www.bushcenter.org/military-service-initiative/warrior-open