Video games, buddy checks and feats of strength: Veteran organizations go virtual in response to pandemic

James Martin, center, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, plays video games Sept. 23, 2018, with his family in his home just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. Martin, a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, hopes to connect veterans during the coronavirus pandemic through online gaming. WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT
James Martin, center, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, plays video games Sept. 23, 2018, with his family in his home just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. Martin, a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, hopes to connect veterans during the coronavirus pandemic through online gaming. WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT

Video games, buddy checks and feats of strength: Veteran organizations go virtual in response to pandemic

by J. P. Lawrence
Stars and Stripes

Iraq and Afghanistan veteran James Martin logged in last week to what he hopes can grow into a regular meeting space for other veterans adjusting to life under a pandemic: online video game night.

Martin is a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project, which like other veteran service organizations is trying to find ways to reach and connect veterans at a time when most can’t meet up in person, due to social distancing guidelines meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Martin, a former Marine injured during combat in Afghanistan in 2013, said he is helping WWP in its effort to build a veteran online gaming community.

“Even though we’re locked in the house, you can still be connected, you can still meet other warriors,” Martin said. “We can play video games together and check on each other.”

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/1.624296

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