Wounded Marine honored during football game Friday

A high school football team’s tribute to the military took on an even greater meaning Friday night when they welcomed home a Marine recently injured in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Zach Nelson, a 2010 graduate of Western High School, suffered a spinal cord injury in July when his mine detection vehicle flipped during a mission to find improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan. Nelson, who is paralyzed from the waist down, returned to his high school for the first time since his injury.


"It hits home,” said Teresa Mooney, who has a son in the Army who graduated with Nelson. “It makes you realize how quickly that can happen. He's just a young man. His life is just starting, and I look at my own son and just say a big prayer."

Western High School showed its appreciation in many ways throughout its military appreciation night. Players wore camouflage uniforms, a massive American flag hung from a fire engine and the entire community came together to dedicate a new memorial built to remember all of those who serve the country.

For Lance Corporal Nelson, it was a reminder of his fellow Marines still in Afghanistan.

"It's hard, you know, to be here and not be over there with my guys,” Nelson said. “I think about them every day."

The idea for military night happened long before Nelson’s injury in July. Western High School senior running back Hudson Featherstone came up with the idea to build the memorial in May.

"He came to us and he said, 'Dad and Mom, I have an idea,'” said Nick Featherstone, Hudson’s father. “I asked him what it was and he said he wanted to do something to create a memorial for our veterans."

Nelson was among those honored during the dedication on Friday, something he called a humbling experience.

"It's not just about me tonight,” Nelson said. “It's about all of them and all the other service members that have lost their lives and been injured in this war. It's about them tonight too."

Earlier in the day, Nelson personally paid tribute to one of those soldiers who lost their lives. Sergeant Bradley Atwell, of Kokomo, recently died during an attack in Afghanistan. Atwell’s body returned to Kokomo on Friday and Lance CPL Nelson was there for the visitation.

"I look up to him for what he did, what he gave," Nelson said.

At the football game, Nelson quickly found that there were plenty of people who also looked up to him. The teams took time between the first and second quarters to honor Nelson and present him with a football.

"It's an honor to be here and be thanked by all these people for, not only what I've done but for what everybody else has done for our country to keep us safe," Nelson said.

Lance Corporal Nelson  is determined to finish the last year and a half of his contract. He will return to Camp Lejeune in October, where he will become part of the Wounded Warrior Battalion.