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Star pitcher gives $121K to wounded warriors

The sound effects during the national anthem at the ballpark took Army Capt. Mark Robert Wise Jr. back to Afghanistan — but just for a moment.

He’s living in the here and now.

There are no more rockets or bombs. There’s only getting back to normal — recovering from his war injuries, reconnecting with his wife, Sara, and looking forward to going back to graduate school, hanging out with fellow soldiers on a summer night to watch the hottest young pitcher in the majors.

Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg, with his nearly 100 mph fastball and changeup, shut down the San Francisco Giants 8-1.

The 21-year-old rookie was all the talk except before the game, when the wounded warriors went onto the field to meet Giants’ left-hander Barry Zito, known for his generosity in supporting the troops.

Wise, an Air Force Academy engineering graduate who grew up an Army brat, and two other soldiers — Spc. Sean Reardon and Spc. Alphaus Jones — helped accept a $121,500 donation that thermal imaging manufacturer FLIR Systems made through Zito’s Strikeouts for Troops, which raises money every time participating pitchers strike out a batter. In five years, the charity has brought in nearly $2 million.

“My family and I were just sitting around during Christmas 2004, and around that time there wasn’t a lot of support for troops,” Zito said. “We wanted to find a way to get baseball behind the military.”

The bulk of the money — FLIR gave $500 for each of the 243 batters struck out July 4 — is going to the Fisher House Foundation, a nearly 20-year-old program that provides housing for families while their loved ones are in military hospitals. The rest will go to other groups dedicated to helping wounded warriors.

Wise, an infantry officer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, knows firsthand about Fisher House. Foundation Chairman Ken Fisher heard Wise’s story from a friend and gave him a call. The two got to know each other, and Fisher led Wise to scholarships that will help him study for a master’s degree in business administration at Georgetown University.

“They do a great job of helping out wounded warriors,” Wise said of Fisher House officials.

Right now, Wise is an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He spent nearly two months as an inpatient after being wounded Oct. 24 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

While on a dismounted patrol, Wise’s squad came under enemy fire. Wise crossed a nearby stream with his radioman, Pfc. Devin J. Michel. On the other side, Michel asked Wise to switch positions with him. An improvised explosive device went off; Michel died.

Wise minimizes his injuries: A piece of his shoulder is missing as is a piece of his forearm. The bomb took three fingers from his left hand and badly burned his right one. Both his knees were mangled and one of his eardrums was broken. He is blind in his left eye and his face is scarred from shrapnel.

His voice drifts off as he runs down the list and he looks over at his wife and smiles.

“We’re very blessed,” he said.