Q&A with Charles Eggleston
A Voice for Change
WINTER 2017
Army Staff Sergeant Charles Eggleston (Ret) has reached national prominence as an advocate for wounded soldiers and military families. Charles served for 16 years, incurring several injuries during multiple tours in Iraq and spent three years recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical in the nation’s capital. His experiences there helped expose shortcomings in the care of fellow wounded service men and women, leading to significant changes. Charles is a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient. Charles is a longtime supporter of ThanksUSA, helps wounded warriors with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder rehab through golf, and is a suicide prevention officer. He is also a golf ambassador for ThanksUSA, inspiring other wounded warriors in our charity tournament. Charles was recently honored at the ThanksUSA Volunteer Luncheon, where his daughter Sierra, a sophomore at Temple University, received a $3,000 Army Navy Country Club/ThanksUSA scholarship. Charles shares his experiences after being wounded in combat, and what compels him to serve military families and support ThanksUSA. Q: What inspired you to join the military? As a kid I always played with GI Joe, and I always wanted to be one of those guys. When Desert Storm kicked off I said to myself, “What have I given back to those that have served us?" I had done nothing other than work and school. That is when I went down and joined up, and it was about a year after Desert Storm ended that I joined the military. Q: What did you discover during your recovery at Walter Reed about the care soldiers were receiving that has led you to help so many wounded? I was one of the guys that blew the whistle on the system — we had the best surgeons in the world, but we had the worst caregivers. Very few of the management had ever been to war. I had 56 surgeries over a period of 3½ years, and at that point a lot of my comrades were taking their own lives. Q: How did golf become such a passion, and how does it help wounded veterans through the process of healing? I never thought golf was a sport for regular guys. I thought it was a rich person’s sport, but I was totally wrong. It’s a community sport, truthfully. I learned that from guys like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. It took me out of the dungeon, and it eased my PTS and some of my TBI problems at the time. It gave me an indicator of exhilaration when I hit a good shot, and at the same time I wasn’t as embarrassed when I hit a bad shot. Other wounded vets couldn’t wait for it to be warm so they could get out there and play and feel the same feelings I felt. It was greatly therapeutic, for physical injuries as well as mental injuries. Q: What are the biggest challenges facing military families? Once that wounded veteran or service person is injured and the family comes in to aid, America as a whole forgets about the caregiver. The family caregiver has to drop everything and often loses their job. Those are the true heroes. Without those guys there would probably be none of us. Q: What compelled you to begin supporting ThanksUSA? I met the two young Okun sisters at one of my first golf tournaments. It was like a beam of energy. I had the chance to see their work being fulfilled through some of the veterans that were in the hospital with me. They had kids that were going to college, and they were getting scholarships. Q: Why is the gift of post-secondary education so important to military families? Education broadens opportunities. It gives you a fighting chance. It provides a more equal playing field, and that’s why the gift means so much. Q: Your daughter recently received a $3,000 Army Navy Country Club/ThanksUSA scholarship. What did that mean to both of you? It meant a whole lot. ThanksUSA is empowering me to live my dreams through my kids. It gave me the opportunity to live a part of the great American dream. Q: How can others get involved in supporting our nation’s service men and women? By going online and looking at organizations such as ThanksUSA, talking to veterans or warfighters such as myself, or just showing up at tournaments and seeing for yourself what happens. You can look at a plate of lasagna all day long and say it looks good until you taste it. My quote would be, “Just get a taste of it.” You will get caught up in the moment. And that’s what it takes to relate and understand the true meaning of giving to those who served and helping those who laid it all on the line. 
Charles (second from the right) and his daughter Sierra (center) at the ThanksUSA Volunteer Luncheon in December, pictured with ThanksUSA Board Member Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, ThanksUSA Advisory Council Member Deborah Mullen, ThanksUSA Chairman & CEO Bob Okun, Army Navy Country Club Deputy General Manager Patrick King, and ThanksUSA Executive Director Michele Stork.
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