Some of the most inspiring and moving stories come from the greatest pain. All of us have seen and heard of the tremendous strength, power and dignity our wounded troops show in their recovery. Devastating injuries are overcome and done so with grace and strength that is humbling.
Mologne House at Walter Reed is a place for soldiers to live while they fight their way back to health. Many people helped this process in many different ways. One of these was Carolyn Surrick, a professional musician who spent her Fridays over several years playing beautiful and soothing music for our wounded warriors in the lobby of Mologne House.
Her group, Trio Galilei, would set up the chairs and sofas so that anyone passing through could sit and join them. It wasn’t a concert performance, it was an invitation to set aside their pain and suffering and join them for music and talk and companionship.
She also gathered the stories of the troops and their families in a book called Between War and Here. In the video above, she plays viola de gamba while one of the wounded warriors who was helped by her music reads some of these stories.