November 4, 2024
Wounded Warriors Family Support, Operation Hat Trick and the University of Nebraska presented U.S. Army veteran Ben Marksmeier with a 2024 Chevy Silverado as part of the Mobility is Freedom program.
Operation Hat Trick donated $30,000 to assist Wounded Warriors Family Support with the vehicle purchase. Marksmeier, a Wisner native and Wisner-Pilger High School graduate, received the Silverado during a halftime presentation at Saturday’s Nebraska-UCLA football game at Memorial Stadium.
“Wounded Warriors Family Support is grateful for Operation Hat Trick and the University of Nebraska as we assist Ben with a vehicle during his continued recovery,” Wounded Warriors Family Support CEO and President Kate McCauley said. “This donation will make a significant impact on Ben’s life and help provide him with necessary resources.”
Marksmeier was deployed to Iraq in November 2005 with the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 189th Transportation Company. In Iraq, he was selected for a multi-international training task force to assist the Iraqi Army.
Just 2½ months before he was set to return home, Marksmeier (then age 22) and his buddy Josh Ford of Pender returned to Tallil Air Base from southern Iraq after they hauled cargo on July 31, 2006. As they drove the convey, Ford asked Marksmeier about what he had seen and where he had been with the special task force.
“I told him not to worry,” Marksmeier said. “I promised him everything would be all right.”
Tragedy struck three minutes later when a roadside bomb exploded near An Numaniyah, Iraq. The bomb tore through the truck, which killed the 20-year-old Ford and ripped a rod through Marksmeier’s legs.
“I wasn’t really hurting too much, but I tried to move my legs. When I moved my legs, I knew one was gone,” Marksmeier said. “All of a sudden, the pain just hit me. I wanted to die. I just felt like giving up.”
However, thoughts of his pregnant wife and unborn son motivated Marksmeier during his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., until May 2007. Marksmeier lost his right leg, left hamstring, had his lower body riddled with shrapnel and sustained impact to his memory, hearing, liver, kidneys, heart and nerves. Marksmeier was pronounced dead during a point in his recovery.
Marksmeier, who lives near Springfield, is the proud father of three sons. He owns Woodshop LLC, a craftsmanship and small carpentry business.
Wounded Warriors Family Support launched Mobility is Freedom in 2015 to provide modified vehicles for combat-wounded veterans. Across the United States, there are approximately 350 veterans who need modified vehicles due to combat-related injuries.
Operation Hat Trick generates awareness and support for the recovery of wounded service members and veterans through the sale of OHT branded merchandise and products. Wounded Warriors Family Support is an Operation Hat Trick donation recipient in the name of the University of Nebraska.
Wounded Warriors Family Support is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured, or killed during combat operations. This organization is run by combat veterans for combat veterans. Rated a four-star nonprofit by Charity Navigator, Wounded Warriors Family Support aids veterans and their families in healing the wounds that medicine cannot.
