Photo By Master Sgt. William Wiseman | Capt. Clint Boatman, Delta Company, 334 Brigade Support Battalion, Sioux City, Iowa,...... read more read more
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Capt. Clint Boatman, commander of Delta Company, 334th Brigade Support Battalion, Iowa Army National Guard, Sioux City, Iowa, read the oath of enlistment to thirty members of the Sioux City Miracle League at the Miracle League of Sioux City Complex before the league all-star games held Sunday, July 9, 2017. After the oath was read, Boatman talked briefly with each athlete. He presented each player with a certificate signifying their honorary “Soldier for a Day” status, shook their hand and rendered a salute.
After the enlistment ceremony, athletes were introduced one-by-one and accompanied by their buddy as they entered the field through an inflatable tunnel. Following their entrance to the field, players helped hold a large American flag while the National Anthem was sang by a Rhaesh Brenner, a fellow athlete from Sioux City, Iowa.
Events like this, require volunteers to help provide recreational opportunities for disabled adults and children in the community. One of the most popular activities is baseball, and for this game, the buddies were made up of fifteen soldiers from Delta Company.
“The military is a volunteer force within the community and we encourage our men and women to perform additional volunteer work outside of the National Guard in order to make the community a better place to live,” said Boatman. “They (the athletes) inspire us every day. They go through challenges every day. In the Iowa National Guard we go through resiliency training. These individuals are resilient on a daily basis.”
Austin Jansen, the volunteer coordinator for the Miracle League, thanked the Iowa National Guard and said, “We had a great season and it was really great being able to do a special event for the athletes and their parents. It is great that we were able to get the National Guard involved and put the spotlight on the kids.”
Smiles stretched across the outfield as athletes and Soldiers bonded. Everyone was included, everyone was wearing camouflage, everyone got to bat and everyone got to throw the ball. In this game, there were no outs; everyone was a winner.
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.12.2017 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 240906 |
| Location: | SIOUX CITY, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 200 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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