During his tour of Iraq, Sgt. Tommy Rieman earned a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.
One award for each bullet wound.
Now he is hopping from one Kangaroo Express convenience store to another to raise awareness and money for a different kind of tour of duty.
Rieman spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Gainesville with Veteran1, a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro painted with stars, stripes and red, white and blue, as part of the “Salute Our Troops” campaign.
The tour started on June 27 in Jacksonville and will end on Sept. 4 in Raleigh, N.C., traveling with vehicles Veteran1 and Fallen Warrior, a 2011 Chevrolet Sierra truck that is also patriotically decorated.
Customers of Kangaroo Express will be invited to make donations for the campaign. The money will go toward several charities, including the United Service Organizations Inc. as well as the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization designed to empower wounded veterans.
“Parents that have lost their children come in and empty their wallets,” Rieman said. “It’s humbling.”
Rieman has as many wounds as he does awards. He was presented a Silver Star for gallantry in action and a Purple Heart. He’s been transformed into a video game character for the official U.S. Army game, America’s Army, and molded into an action figure.
He is an American hero.
Rieman was leading a convoy of three vehicles with eight men in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, on Dec. 3, 2003, when a swarm of enemy soldiers ambushed them.
He used his body as a shield to protect the gunner that was using a .50-caliber machine gun.
After surviving the onslaught of an ambush by 50 enemies, Rieman had bullet wounds in his right arm and his chest. Shrapnel was lodged in his stomach, chest and ear.
But there was emotional trauma, too.
Rieman wants to raise awareness about the needs of all soldiers, including those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. To him, the campaign is not just about raising money but is also about creating an impact in the community.
While in Gainesville, Rieman visited the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, bringing Veteran1 and Fallen Warrior along to show to the veterans of the center.
“It was great to see them come out of their rooms and engage with us,” he said. “Many of them are Vietnam vets that are alone here and suffered severe wounds. It was very emotional.”
The cars that are on tour with “Salute Our Troops” are owned and were customized by retired Sgt. Kelly Fromm, of Daytona Beach, who worked as a counterintelligence agent for 16 years.
He joined the “Salute Our Troops” effort this year with his “Rev-It-Up for Wounded Warriors” custom patriotic cars.
Since 2010, Fromm has traveled around the country honoring fallen soldiers and raising money for veteran groups. He has raised $250,000 since he started and hopes that joining “Salute Our Troops” will raise more.
Veteran1 was raffled off in Fort Bragg, N.C., for $75,000. Fallen Warrior will be raffled as well before the end of the tour, and Fromm hopes to earn $100,000 for it.
The money will go to the Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans' Nursing Home in St. Augustine, the Wounded Warrior Project and Active Dogs Academy Service Dog Foundation Inc., which provides service dogs to disabled veterans at no cost.
“We’ve been able to help through money and by generating attention for the dogs,” Fromm said. “A lot of groups are getting involved, but demand is still higher than supply.”
As of Wednesday, more than $465,000 has been raised this year for “Salute Our Troops.”
In 2011, its inaugural year, “Salute Our Troops” raised $2.5 million in 90 days.
This year, the campaign raised $400,000 in the first week, and the goal is $5 million.
“We’re here, and we’re rolling into your city,” Rieman said.
