Wear your seat belt--every trip; every time

September 21, 2009

 

Hello,

 

On March 6, 2009 I was driving to Fargo from Grand Forks and came upon an accident that I knew the outcome would not be a positive one. The following day, the phone call came in that SPC Patrick Welsh had been killed in that very car accident. Patrick was one of the soldiers from the 191 MP CO that Soldiers' Angels supported through his deployment.

 

Shortly thereafter, I reached out to the family to extend more support in this time of need. Through this outreach, it became apparent that his younger sister Piper wanted to use this tragedy as a way of reaching out to others to make a difference.

 

 

Hello,

My twenty-four year old brother, Specialist Patrick Welsh from Grand Forks, ND died from injuries suffered in a tragic rollover traffic crash just two months after he returned from serving with the North Dakota Army National Guard's 191^st Military Police Company in Iraq. Please honor Patrick's memory and his service to our country by wearing your seat belt--every trip; every time.

Piper Welsh

 

                Welsh, a 24-year-old Grand Forks resident, died in a one-car rollover accident along I-29 about 15 miles north of Fargo. His death came just two months after he and about 100 soldiers from the North Dakota Army National Guard's 191st Military Police Company returned to the state after serving in Iraq for a year.
               

                The 191st received its mobilization order in October 2007 and began active duty in January 2008. In   its year in Iraq to perform military police, security and maneuver support operations, the company completed almost 1,300 missions and traveled more than 120,000 miles. Among the company's accomplishments were assisting in 74 detainee releases and training 346 Iraqi police in a rigorous, 15-day training program that incorporated weapons training, Iraqi law, police tactics and physical training. Welsh's squad was assigned to what were called pit missions, serving as a police transition team for the Iraqi police.          Upon his return to the United States in January, Welsh was quoted in an article in the local paper: "I am looking forward to seeing my daughter Arista, family and friends," he said. "I am also looking forward to going back to college and earning my degree." He continued on by saying, "The largest change I have seen in Baghdad from start to finish is the Iraqi Security Forces are doing an excellent job on providing better security."

 

 

While we cannot bring Patrick back, we can make a difference. Please accept this decal on behalf of Piper in her outreach to save a life; would you please share this message and please wear your seat belt--every trip; every time.

 

If you would like to receive another decal, please contact the primary sponsor of this project, Bill Vasicek of Safe Communities Coalition of the Northern Valley and Altru Health Systems. He canbe reached at (701) 780-5939 or bvasicek@altru.org or contact myself at (218-) 779-7271 or shellemichaels@soldiersangels.org. Thank you for taking this time to hear Piper's message!

Sincerely,

 

Shelle Michaels

Soldiers' Angels National Communication Officer