It’s a calm cool morning at Range 19 on Moyock, North Carolina’s Academi Training Center. At 0846:30, a shot rings out. 911 yards from the commerative target, the M118 round is fired from a custom built Remington 700. It strikes home at the exact time Flight 11 hit the World Trade Center North Tower (One) in 2001. This time is significant for today’s purpose as it symbolizes the moment that America and by extension its NSW forces realized we were under attack and began to go to war.
In early August a retired SEAL friend approached me about a project he had under development. He envisioned an innovative fund raiser that would help turn 9/11 from a grief based day into a positive event to raise awareness and funds to support our Wounded Warriors. In particular, he wanted to support Wounded Wear which helps out our troops with prosthesis and other medical conditions that require specialized clothing.
The plan was to adapt elements of today’s date as well as the sacrifices of Naval Special Warfare personnel into the event. Over the course of the day our shooter will accomplish 79 shots on target, one for each NSW member lost in action or training since 9/11. He will fire the rounds from a custom built Remington 700 built by a SEAL Sniper. Each shot will be from 911 yards. The expended brass will be organized into bags with the name of the NSW individual that the scoring impact was fired for and be presented to the relatives of the fallen. The name of fallen warrior that the shot commemorates will be annotated on the target beside the hit.
Once the firing is completed later today, the target will be sent to artist Ellwood T Risk to be turned into a unique piece of art. He is known for incorporating targets into some very amazing stuff. The Original will be auctioned off at the upcoming Hold ’em for Heroes poker run sponsored by Wounded Wear in order to raise money for that cause.
Look for additional details here on SSD about the original art, the auction, and the Hold ’em for Heroes Poker Run.