Army Staff Sgt. Charles Egglestone, 42, of Fort Meade, who served in the 25th Infantry Division, was injured twice in Iraq in 2005 and received two Purple Hearts.
He?s been since undergoing surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and has titanium in his back and other body parts. He?s the lucky one. Six of his platoon were lost in one of the attacks when his unit was hit by an improvised explosive device.
Egglestone was one of 700 guests attending the fourth annual Armed Forces Foundation Congressional Gala held Wednesday evening at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington. The event raised $1.2 million, including a $75,000 donation by Ron White, a comedian who performed for the guests, whose trademark is smoking cigars and drinking scotch whiskey on stage.
Egglestone walked with a cane and wasn?t alone. Several veterans who sustained debilitating injuries attended the event with congressmen and celebrities.
“The gala helps us to put faces to all these names we know,” he said. “They?re as happy to see me as I am to see them.”
Before the event kicked off Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense, spoke one-on-one with The Examiner.
Growing up in West Baltimore during World War II, a certain 7-year-old boy noticed a puzzling sign placed in a square where neighborhood children used to play.
It said, “Francis Callahan Jr. Square.”
“I found out it was a Marine killed in Iwo Jima who lived in the neighborhood,” England said.
“So I learned early the sacrifices of the military.”
After a childhood of fishing, eating seafood and rooting for Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, England graduated from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore and was a 1961 graduate of the University of Maryland.
“I have many, many fond memories of Baltimore,” he said.
England credits his Baltimore-area teachers and family for giving him the work ethic and education he needed to succeed. His life has been one of service. He also served as secretary of the Navy and was the first deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
“I refer to our military as the thin line but thick wall that separates the life we live everyday from chaos and fear,” he said, referring to the select group in the military but priceless defense they provide.
England has been a major player for the gala, said Patricia Driscoll, the foundation?s president and executive director.
Public figures, like England, serve as powerful role models for the troops and regular citizens alike, she said.
“He?s a generous and kind-hearted man and just a very honest person,” Driscoll said. “Baltimore should be very proud of him.”
