Forty wounded military vets got on bikes and rode the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West beginning on Jan. 6. The annual Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride began at Key Largo VFW Post 10211, where local residents waited to bid the veterans a cheerful journey south. They rode roughly 12 miles to the Old Highway in Tavernier, where students lined both sides of the road waving flags, clapping and offering words of encouragement. After a ride from the Marathon fire station across the picturesque Seven Mile Bridge later on Jan. 6 and a trip in Key West from the U.S. Naval Air Station to Bayview Park on Jan. 7, warriors closed their journey with a reunion with dolphins at Grassy Key’s Dolphin Research Center on Jan. 8.
U.S. veterans with the 2023 Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride make a stop at Coral Shores High School to meet with students and teachers from CSHS and Plantation Key School.
U.S. veterans with the 2023 Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride make a stop at Coral Shores High School to meet with students and teachers from CSHS and Plantation Key School.
Following their Upper Keys ride, warriors enjoy lunch at the Marathon fire station. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly
A trip to visit the pod at Dolphin Research Center, many of which overcame injuries of their own on their path to rehabilitation, closed the warriors’ weekend on Sunday. DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER/Contributed
Corine Hamilton, left, a U.S. Army specialist, gets a dorsal tow courtesy of two dolphins at Dolphin Research Center Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Marathon, Fla. Hamilton, who was paralyzed while on active duty in Europe, was a participant in the Florida Keys Soldier Ride, a three-day event organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, that ended Sunday. Chris Hartpence, a DRC staff member, is at right assisting Hamilton. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)Corine Hamilton, a U.S. Army specialist, gets a kiss from Santini the dolphin at Dolphin Research Center Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Marathon, Fla. Hamilton, who was paralyzed while on active duty in Europe, was a participant in the Florida Keys Soldier Ride, a three-day event organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, that ended Sunday. Activities for about 40 wounded warriors included riding adaptive bicycles on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway and visiting Key West. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)Accompanied by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Marathon emergency response vehicles, warriors make their way across the Seven Mile Bridge to Veterans Memorial Park. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly
Key West
A giant American flag welcomes Wounded Warriors as they cross the bridge heading into Key West. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly
Wounded Warriors approach the entrance to Key West on Jan. 7. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys WeeklyRiders on traditional and recumbent bicycles take a victory spin down Duval St. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly A line of supportive, flag-bedecked Jeeps follows the Wounded Warriors down Duval Street. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly Riders on traditional and recumbent bicycles take a victory spin down Duval St. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly Riders on traditional and recumbent bicycles take a victory spin down Duval St. Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/Keys Weekly
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