Murphy – During the holiday season, the season for giving, two local veterans organizations came together as a team in support of a veteran in need. Disabled American Veterans with Commandant George Bendzen, and The American Legion with Commander Rich LeCount, combined efforts and gave generously in aid to this veteran’s recovery program.
Tim Irish enlisted into the Navy right out of high school in 1985, serving from 1985-93. He served aboard the USS Midway and USS Nimitz as a crash and salvage firefighter ABH2, with eight years active duty.
Irish re-enlisted in the Air Guard for three years afterward. He also worked 22 years for the Connecticut Department of Corrections retiring as a lieutenant. He and his wife, Brenda, retired to Cherokee County.
In 2019, he suffered a fall that resulted in a traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury at level C3 that left him quadriplegic. Irish is fighting hard everyday to regain mobility, making great progress and beginning to regain sensation and movements all over his body.
Irish will be attending the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for intensive rehabilitation. His fellow veterans are looking forward to seeing his continued progress with independence and functional skills.