Home of the Free… Because of the Brave Attendee Spotlight

Jeddah Deloria remembers the first time he attended the Home of the Free … Because of the Brave dinner. It was in 2008, when Deloria was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, just starting his recovery from getting hit by enemy rocket fire while serving in the U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan.

 

Home of the Free … Because of the Brave was still in its infancy after Paul Norman founded the event the previous year and held it in the basement of Morton’s restaurant in Tysons Corner. 

 

At the time, Deloria felt very out of place.

 

“It was by far the nicest place I’d ever been,” he said. “I was very out of my element. But Paul assured me, ‘This is for you guys. Enjoy.’ ”

 

Ever since, Deloria – a Purple Heart Recipient for his injuries sustained in combat – has attended nearly every Home of the Free … Because of the Brave. The dinner is an opportunity for sponsors and ticket purchasers – every day Americans — to show their gratitude and support for service members, who have the opportunity for a complimentary night out while many of them are recovering from serious injuries. It also is a chance for attendees to lay the groundwork and network for civilian life.

 

This year, though, for the first time, Deloria attended the dinner as a sponsor. 

 

He still has the battle scars – metal fragments from the rocket-propelled grenade are in his brain and around his skull. Shrapnel is peppered across the right side of his body, which results in losing vision in his right eye. While that sounds bad, Deloria retains a positive outlook. He credits Home of the Free … Because of the Brave for helping him get to this point, with a job in information technology, a family and a home in the Northern Virginia suburbs.

 

“It was because of Paul and a lot of other mentors that I found employment, randomly, in IT,” Deloria said with a laugh. “I turned down the job five times because I thought IT was like Geek Squad at Best Buy.”

 

Deloria had wanted to become a sponsor for several years, but Norman – now a member of the Military Bowl Foundation’s Board of Directors — kept telling him that his money was not needed. Finally, this year, Deloria pulled an end around, and just went online to sign up.

 

“I’m in the position I am because of what this event has done for me so that I can be a sponsor,” Deloria said. “At this point, I can give back.”

 

Born in the Philippines, Deloria grew up in Southern California. He was in high school in 2001 when terrorist events changed the world and he enlisted in the U.S. Army upon turning 18. He served for more than 3 ½ years and medically retired as a sergeant in 2009.

 

Now, he can joke that the surgical team at Walter Reed did great work putting him back together, including reconstructing both of his ear drums. He also had a traumatic brain injury from the blast, multiple lacerations on his right arm, three gunshot wounds (shoulder, lower back and thigh) and three herniated disks.

 

While his experience has been extremely traumatic and the road to recovery long, Deloria believes that everything happens for a reason and that where he is today is the product of his experiences.

 

“I am an eternal optimist,” Deloria said. “The worst day of my life turned out to be the best day for me.”