Don’t forget Wounded Warriors

The capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden last Saturday night and countless fans watching on TV were, no doubt, thrilled as they watched the Cornell Big Red hockey team score two of its five goals against the University of Michigan during the second period of the 2012 “Frozen Apple” game.

But they may have been confused by the desert camouflaged jerseys the boys from Ithaca were wearing. 

Following a trend made popular by groups like Susan G. Comen for the Cure, which dressed football players in bright pink for breast cancer awareness, the Big Red skaters had changed into camo jerseys to honor the Wounded Warrior Project.

It was a dose of much-needed good publicity for an organization that found itself embroiled in salacious reports about former Central Intelligence Agency director Gen. David Petraeus and his women. 

Whatever their transgressions, all of them, along with Mrs. Petraeus and even the first lady, Michelle Obama, have recognized the vital work the Wounded Warrior Project does for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have been consistent critics of the foreign adventures initiated by George W. Bush, but the sins of his — and Obama’s — administration in letting them drag on should not be visited upon loyal troopers doing their duty for their country.

Wounded Warrior works with vets and their families to ease the pain of reentry into stateside society, especially when the vets face physical or mental health challenges. 

Its programs deal with issues like combat stress recovery, family support, adaptive sports, rehabilitation for soldiers with prosthetic limbs and many others. 

At this time of year, we’re bombarded with requests for donations from many worthy causes and we should open our hearts and wallets for as many as we can. We could do worse than to include Wounded Warrior. To donate, or for more information, go to www.woundedwarriorproject.org.