PERDIDO KEY, Fla. (Sept. 13, 2016) — When a roadside bomb tore through two muscles in Ret. 1st Sgt. Gary Powell’s shoulder in 2004, he could have left Iraq and taken a vacation, but he didn’t.
“I didn’t report it,” Powell said in September, from his Deridder, Louisiana home. “I didn’t want to get sent away from my soldiers.”
Instead, Powell served a full year in Iraq and waited seven more, until after he had retired, to go in for surgery. He retired in 2010 and bought a five-acre piece of land in Derrider, a city of 10,000 located an hour north of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
In 2014, Powell finally got the vacation he deserved when he was one of about two dozen wounded veterans selected to receive a free, week-long retreat hosted by Eden Condominiums in Perdido Key.
The event, which will return to the beach for a third year Sept. 17-24, started when a condo owner at Eden offered his unit to a wounded veteran to thank him for his service. Word of the gesture spread, and, soon, other owners were offering to do the same. The retreat has grown every year since.
“The Perdido Area is best known for its beaches,” April Adams, Eden’s rental manager, said, “but we’re a military town through and through. These folks gave everything so we could have the freedom to enjoy our little slice of Paradise. This is just our way of giving back to them a small piece of what they’ve given us.”
Powell, who was referred to Eden by the nonprofit Wounded War Heroes, attended the retreat for a second time in 2015. He won’t be traveling to Perdido Key for this year’s retreat, but said the experience of the first two years had meant a lot to him. “When I got injured and bullets were being shot at me, I found myself asking what I was doing in Iraq,” he said. “Through the help of the Wounded War Heroes program, I’ve come to see what I was fighting for. I found out that I was fighting for the small, hometown folks of America, you know, not the politicians and all the other folks, because, since I’ve been in the program, I’ve seen a lot of people showing their appreciation.”
During the retreat, local businesses rolled out the welcome mats for Powell and his fellow veterans — donating meals, jet skis and even manicures. Eden treated the veterans and their spouses to a free day at their in-house spa during their stay, and Powell — a 30-year Army veteran — had his nails done.
“I got into it,” Powell laughed. “I got into it, man.”
Powell said the time spent with other veterans and the picturesque surroundings were among the highlights of the trip.
“I had never been to Florida,” he said, “and I just fell in love with it. I was trying to talk the wife into moving, but she won’t have no part of it.”
Still, Powell hopes to return soon.
“I keep a bug out bag, just in case,” he said. “I could be gone within 30 minutes.”
Eden is still looking for partners to help make the event as memorable for this year’s attendees as it was for Powell. Thomas said Eden was also accepting donations of household goods so the veterans’ condos would be well-stocked during their stay. Those wishing to help can call Eden at 850-492-336 or send an email to rental@perdido-key.com.
