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Wounded soldiers dive at Molasses Reef

Local businesses make "trip to remember" happen

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dball@keysreporter.com

Posted - Tuesday, December 09, 2008 01:29 PM EST

More than a dozen wounded soldiers and their family members took part in a weeklong vacation to Key Largo this past week that ended with three days of diving along Upper Keys reefs.

Local businesses contributed to the soldiers' hotel stays, meals and dive trips in what has become a twice-a-year event. Organizer Fraser Bathgate called it a "trip to remember" for all who participated.

"It was amazing. The fish, the coral. It was just amazing," said Jared Kreiser, a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps who went through dozens of reconstructive surgeries on his jaw and legs after taking shrapnel from an improvised explosive outside of Baghdad.

Kreiser and many other soldiers said diving is great therapy for their wounded bodies as well as their spirit.

"When I started diving I did a complete 360 in my attitude with my injury, because I was pretty depressed," said retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brian Price. "And the more I dive, the happier I get."



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