“Snap, pop… Snap, snap!”  That is the sound of 7.62 x 39mm projectiles breaking the sound barrier inches from you head.  Fear freezes you, but then you breathe and relax while your training and instincts take over.  “Get down, everybody down, does anyone see what direction the shooter is firing from?” shouts SSG Shannon to his men as the rounds litter the hot Iraqi air…“BOOM, KABOOM!!!”

Suddenly all is quite; dust and smoke fills the air.  SSG Shannon hears only the sound of his heartbeat getting faster and faster as he realizes…. “Incoming, INCOMING everyone take cover,” he shouts over his heartbeat, as mortars shower him and his men with shrapnel and debris from the explosion.  With instincts now at the helm, fear vanishes and he knows what to do.  Pushing himself beyond his own limits his focus falls onto his men.  “Have to get to the men. By all that is good in his life, it will be done, for God, Country and the Men,” he thinks, “he will help his men.”

Time seems to slow into a more constrained entity that is more easily controlled by the combat experienced Platoon Sergeant, as if there is some greater power lending him a hand.  Thousands of questions are rushing towards SSG Shannon almost simultaneously, but from where and by whom? How could one man answer all the panicked voices racing in his head?  Suddenly all questions are answered and SSG Shannon’s nerves calm.

SSG Shannon reasons through the situation… “All men are in the vehicles minus two, including himself, and about ten Iraqi Police were in close proximity of the mortars when they came in.  Doc is in vehicle two.  I need to grab him and my team leaders to look for the wounded quickly.”  All these solutions came rushing through his mind in a matter of seconds, and SSG Shannon quickly moves into action, just as the thoughts had been played out in his mind.  It seemed as if someone or something was controlling SSG Shannon, as if he was a character in some crazed video game; but there was no game, no restarts, and no extra lives.

“Doc. Team leaders, let’s go lets go” the platoon Sergeant shouts and his team immediately understands and jumps into action. Doc and SSG Shannon swiftly find Major Haythem lying on his back yelling in agony. “Wrap it up Doc, it’s just a superficial leg wound to the lower left leg. He is non-critical get him on the up-armored HMVV. Hurry, hurry, before more rounds start coming in.” Shannon shouts.  The combat veteran moves from wounded to wounded as if it was an act he was performing after extensive rehearsals. It was almost as if he was being controlled by some other presence? God, perhaps? Maybe luck or training?

SSG Patrick Shannon has spent eight years in the US Marine Corps and recently retired after serving five year’s as a reservist with the US Army.  He brings years of military service that is priceless to the development and success of Helping Hands for Freedom.  After receiving rewards like the Bronze Star and Purple Heart from the United States military he is excited to bring the goals of our organization into reality.  As the Executive Director of Helping Hands for Freedom SSG Patrick Shannon wishes to ensure that service men that have lived through tragic experiences similar to his get the treatment and help they need and deserve.

As a father of four beautiful children, he also maintains a vested interested in our nation’s future.  By joining Helping Hands for Freedom, SSG Shannon is expanding his mission from a strictly military focus, working with organizations like the Wounded Warriors Project, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in the past, to now include military children. He looks forward to translating his passion and dedication within the military service into becoming a positive role model and leader for children across the country.

With SSG Shannon, Rodney Smith brings over 18 years of non-profit experience to Helping Hands for Freedom.  As an active member of the non-profit community, Rodney has dedicated his time and efforts to the advancement of children, as well as military service members and their families.  Rodney Smith has founded and worked with other non-profit organizations like Future for KIDS and Freedom Is Not Free. He has created, managed and operated 98 youth camps and reached out to over 129,000 children and parents, while raising and distributing over 580,000 USD since 2006 in grants and relief funds to wounded service members, their families and the families of the fatally wounded through another military charity.

Both SSG Shannon and Rodney believe that through mentorship and after-school sports and education programs one can open more doors and create more opportunities for children otherwise disadvantaged.  And through financial relief we can better take care of those who protect us.  Helping Hands for Freedom’s objective is to continue a tradition of service in the improvement of those lives we have come to rely upon.

On the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq the United States hit a tragic benchmark, amassing a total of four thousand casualties; and with countless more wounded in service there is an unfortunate opening for our communities to come together and take a stand to support the troops in their time of need.  And with the widespread belief that the future of our country and the world rests on the shoulders of younger generations, Helping Hands for Freedom works to fill the gaps in assistance to better the lives of all.