Wednesday, June 11, 2014

John Wayne Walding
Crown Royal’s American Hero

He was to be named Toby Wayne after his grandfather; however his parent’s plans were augmented after his auspicious birth on America’s Independence Day.

“As my dad explained it to me,” John Wayne Walding recalled, “he said you have a cool birthday . . . you need a cool name to go with it!”

Justin Moore announced Green Beret John Wayne Walding as Namesake of NASCAR Brickyard 400 at the live broadcast of the CMT Music Awards.
Justin Moore announced Green Beret John Wayne Walding as Namesake
of NASCAR Brickyard 400 at the live broadcast of the CMT Music Awards.

Now as the winner of the annual Crown Royal’s “Your Hero’s Name Here” program, that “cool” name will be proudly displayed as the title of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this July.

"The fact that Crown Royal cares enough to say 'thank you' for what I've done is a true validation for my sacrifice," Walding stated “the magnitude of those two words can not be underestimated."

John Wayne was nominated for this honor by his older brother Mark. The “Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding ‘400’ at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com will be the eighth year Crown Royal and the voting fans have awarded naming rights to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to a deserving American.

As part of the grand-prize package, Walding will take part in a VIP at-track experience that will include garage tours, pace car rides and concerts by Big Machine Label Group artists. He will top off his first-time NASCAR track experience by delivering the trophy bearing his name to the race winner in Victory Lane.

“I have been fighting the war for the last twelve years, so I really have not had time to take any time out and go to a race; so this is going to be one heck of a first NASCAR race . . . I am pretty sure my second race is going to suck after going to this one.” Walding bantered.

John is a Green Beret with twelve years of service with eight years in the Special Forces. In 2008, he was injured in a firefight and lost the lower part of his right leg. He has received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantry Badge. Within a year of losing his leg, John completed the 2009 Boston Marathon using a hand cycle! He came in fourth.

“The sacrifices that have been made by John Wayne Walding and countless heroes across the country serve as an inspiration to all of us at Crown Royal,” said Abby Wise, Brand Director for Crown Royal. “We’re excited to provide Walding a small token of our gratitude by renaming the NASCAR race at the famed Brickyard in his honor.”

John Wayne is also the founder of Five Toes Custom (5TC). 5TC is based on the idea of helping combat wounded vets and giving back to charity by building handcrafted precision rifles. The business employs wounded veterans in an effort to provide both support and direction within their lives.

However to hear John Wayne Walding tell it; he is not a hero.

“When they talk to me about the ‘Your Hero’s Name Here,’ I tell them that I am not the hero.” John Wayne Walding explained, “The guys who did not make it back are the heroes. We owe it to them to live well. Now to have this honor . . . . . I will do it for them and do the best that I can to honor their sacrifice.”

John Wayne Walding was born on the 4th of July and raised in Groesbeck, Texas. He joined the army after high school and deployed for the initial invasion into Iraq and for a second time in Afghanistan. He is the first amputee to graduate the Special Forces Sniper School. He is also a husband to his beautiful wife and a father to his four crazy children. John is thankful, humble and polite!

John Wayne Walding is a much bigger hero than he knows!


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2 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Great. I want to visit Moore`s concert. I think i`ll make it true this year because he goes in new tour http://justinmooretourdates.com/
. Hope he will be with Miranda Lambert, because this couple is really great.