Welcome to the
Warrior Camaro
My name is Carmen Brancato from Philadelphia, Pa. I am a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project charity that supports our severely wounded troops returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I come from a military family with my Dad and both grandfathers having served in the Marines, a sister serving as a nurse in the Army and being deployed this June to Afghanistan (presently stationed at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC), a brother-in-law presently deployed overseas in the Navy and myself having served a short time in the Marines. This past June, I visited my sister while she was stationed at the burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. During my stay, I was able to take a tour of the Center for the Intrepid, a multi-million dollar, state of the art rehabilitation facility located next to the hospital. As my sister and I toured the facility, we were able to meet some of these brave warriors who had sustained life-altering wounds. The looks on their faces was not one of self-pity, as many would feel, but of determination. It was truly a humbling experience that made me feel honored to have met them. Not all of them could return to battle to be with their fellow brothers and sisters, but if they had the chance, I know they would surely do so. I left the facility wanting to do whatever I could do to help these men and women continue to get the best possible rehabilitation and care that they could receive. My cousin Joseph Brancato II was involved in work with charities, which prompted me to find a charity that supported our wounded troops. After some research and a car show that my sister and I attended, I was introduced to the Wounded Warrior Project. Please visit the website to see all of the great programs that have been established to help not only the injured warriors, but their families as well. In this day and age when it seems like everyone's against the war, people tend to forget about all of the sacrifices these men and women have made and continue to make daily, the Wounded Warrior Project continues to make sure that these sacrifices are not forgotten.
To gain the public's awareness of the charity, I decided to have my 1969 Camaro SS vinyl-wrapped with images of all of our armed forces in action. I made a call to Arizona Designs in Maple Shade, New Jersey and the project was underway. I sold my truck the next week in order to finance the project, and on July 4, 2009, the car made its debut. It was a very busy summer driving the car to various events that requested I display the car. I have toured military bases, hospitals and reserve centers. The car appeared at a number of professional sporting events including NASCAR races and a number of concerts including Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, and Montgomery Gentry. The car has also been on TV news shows, newspapers, and magazines, with more scheduled in the future, including a music video / DVD. Last November (2009) I was invited to the SEMA show in Las Vegas so a friend and I trailered/drove the car across country to raise awareness about the charity and seek donations for this great organization as we traveled across 11 states.
This year the car will be featured on Speed TV's "Car Crazy" with Barry Meguiar, as well as Spike TV's "Power Block TV" with Courtney Hansen. In addition, I will be on the road again touring military bases, car shows, concerts, and many other venues across the country. There are also tentative plans to team up with Kevyn Major Howard ("Rafterman" from the movie Full Metal Jacket and founder of Fueled by the Fallen charity) to take our cars to Iraq to be displayed for the troops.
So far, all of the
costs, from the $3,500.00 graphics, to the fuel, tolls and
maintenance have been covered by my own finances, which hasn't been
easy for my family, but it is a small sacrifice compared to those being
made by our troops and their families. Again, please take the
time to visit the Wounded Warrior Project website to
see all of the great ways this charity is helping our severely wounded
troops and their families and please make a donation so these programs
can continue. Thank you in advance for your time and support.
The greatest casualty of war is being forgotten.
Carmen J. Brancato
WarriorCamaro.org