HEIDELBERG, Germany -- Big stars have been performing for troops since Bob Hope made his first combat zone appearance in 1943, but it is rare for a perfomer to be able to relate personally to troops and the challenges they often face.
Singer-songwriter Theresa Sareo, who currently is touring military istallations in Europe, lost her entire right leg when an impaired driver hit her in 2002. She said she quickly realized she had had common ground with some of the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"During the first year of my recovery, I was watching our first round of troops coming back from the war with traumatic amputations like me, and I was very moved by that because I was feeling very isolated," Sareo said. "I didn't know how to be an amputee; I didn't know what life with amputation was supposed to look like. So when I saw them, I had two feelings, my heart broke for them because I didn't want them to have to go through the life I was living - they looked so young - but at the same I was sort of relieved to see them because they lessened my own sense of isolation."
Sareo then began visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, eventually writing the song "Through A Soldier's Eyes," based on her experiences there.
She made her way to Heidelberg May 3 as part of her two-week tour in Europe, which included stops in Ramstein, Landstuhl and Wiesbaden. She will perform in Schweinfurt, Vilseck and Vicenza this week to wrap up her tour.
She said writing a song about Soldiers has given her a different perspective.
"Because of that song, it has changed the whole trajectory of my career and my life," Sareo said. "I now spend a lot of my life devoted to troop support."
Sareo's leg was amputated above the knee nine months to the day after 9/11.
"I like to say that my life was changed when my city was changed forever, when my country was changed forever, and the whole world really changed forever," she said.
While Sareo said she enjoys visiting and performing for troops and their families, her interaction with wounded warriors is a two-way street.
"Through sharing my story, I hope that Soldiers will share their stories with me and with each other and to create and enhance this flow of fellowship," Sareo said. "I know from my own experience how useful that is and it's incredible, because it heals yourself and it heals the other person ... it's this healing exchange."
Her tour, sponsored by the Warrior Transition Battalion Europe and the U.S. Army Europe Chaplain's Corps, aims to do just that.
"She has such an amazing story," said Chaplain (Maj.) Vernon Shackelford, Warrior Transition Battalion Europe chaplain. "Her performances really send this motivating message of resiliency, healing and overcoming obstacles. Soldiers are really relating to her, and I think this tour is going to be a huge success."
Sareo is enjoying her time in Europe so far, performing for and visiting various Warrior Transition Units.
"I feel so fortunate to be here," Sareo said. "I feel it's a mission that I didn't necessarily choose, it chose me. It has been very emotional. I am very grateful for the opportunity."
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