JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A combat-wounded Marine, who said Wounded Warrior Project abandoned him when he needed help the most, is speaking out against the Jacksonville-based veterans charity.
New4Jax began investigating WWP in January after critics came forward to blow the whistle on what they said was wasteful spending, questionable employment practices and a culture of intimidation and fear.
The investigative reports highlighted two lawsuits Wounded Warrior Project filed against fellow veterans, social media posts from a Wounded Warrior Project executive calling the controversy “heavy bull****,” and the withdrawal of a major donor's support because of what the reports exposed.
Marcus Mason first came to News4Jax more than a month ago, saying that the reports had lifted his veil of shame.
Mason said he was kicked out of a Wounded Warrior Project program, and he felt alone and confused after he lost nearly everything.
Weeks after the investigative reports first aired, Mason decided he was strong enough to tell his story in hopes of closing a dark chapter of his life.
“How do you get kicked out of a wounded military-type program and you're wounded?” Mason asked.
Mason, a Purple Heart recipient, medically retired as a sergeant after serving nine years and 25 days on tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with that patriotism came great sacrifice.
“(A) couple hundred pounds went off underneath my truck (from an) IED in Anwar province in (the) Fallujah area, and (I) had a real nasty suicide dump truck go off,” said Mason, who first enlisted in 1998.
The 35-year-old father now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury, which at times causes him to lose his train of thought. But that's not all.
“(I have) seizures, memory (problems), migraines, massive dead tissue in my abdomen, along with my appendix had to be removed. That was pretty much from the dump truck -- (I) also (have a) replacement left shoulder,” Mason said.
Mason said those injuries left him unable to do physical labor.
But he remembered seeing the fledgling Wounded Warrior Project helping veterans when he returned from Iraq in 2006.
“I remember seeing the backpacks going up to ICU from guys burnt from head to toe, and that was in its infancy, and it was rock solid,” Mason said. “I remember Al (Giordano) seeing this gentleman, so at that time I thought of someone having a big heart, someone caring about a warrior.”
Giordano became the chief operating officer for the charity, second behind its CEO, Steven Nardizzi, who has refused to answer questions about how the nonprofit is run or questions from injured veterans, like Mason.
Mason said when he retired he found Wounded Warrior Project's Track Program online, which was supposed to help him go back to college.
“I felt as though Wounded Warrior Project would really help me, no matter what I needed, not give me a handout, but at least point me in the right direction,” Mason said.
He moved to Jacksonville, Florida, from Jacksonville, North Carolina, leaving behind his young son and home that had him financially underwater because of his war wounds and divorce. Within two months of being in the program, Mason's house had been foreclosed on, but he was looking to his new future.
“I passed all my classes that spring semester, and I was like, 'Wow, I'm going to be able to do this,' and all,” Mason said.
Mason said that's when he hit a road block. He felt a few people in his Track Program weren't taking the courses seriously and were a disruption. As a leader and a Marine, he sounded the alarm.
“They would say, 'I'm not here to get a job. I'm just here for this program, and then to figure out what's my next move in life.' I'm sitting there like, 'you must ... I don't know where you came from. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.' I took it very seriously. I respected it,” Mason said.
He said that eventually voicing his difference of opinion led to an argument and later his dismissal, when he complained to management. He said the dismissal might have been out of retaliation.
“I felt pretty bad,” Mason said. “I felt (like), 'How do you fail a program like that?'”
The Track Program also provided students with financial assistance: $3,000 a month, which Mason lost when he was dismissed from the program.
“There were three or four times I had to call them and say, 'I've been working on oatmeal or water. I've been living pretty simple,'” Mason said. “'If you could, point me in the right direction, because I'm hurting, and I could use some help. I have no money.' And so they would give me a $300 gift card. That happened three to four times. For someone to put you in a situation, kind of, and you have to beg them to get help. (There's) no pride. It's just, you have to survive.”
Mason said he felt abandoned by Wounded Warrior Project.
“I've been sober from alcohol three years. Luckily, I did not go back to alcohol. Luckily, I didn't abuse any drugs,” Mason said. “I did what I could, talked to a therapist.”
Mason said that for months he told himself that there was no way Giordano knew about what was happening with him.
“But maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's a business, and it starts off helping somebody heartfelt, but when it gets to a certain level, maybe he changed the direction,” Mason said.
Now, he hopes mounting pressure from the public will help the organization rebuild to do more good for veterans that truly need the Wounded Warrior Project.
“If everybody is saying the same things, there might be a problem, and I think that's where America is at,” Mason said.
That rebuilding process began Thursday, when the WWP Board of Directors fired Nardizzi and Giordano.
Mason said he tried to call and quit the Wounded Warrior Project's alumni program, but it took four separate phone calls, because when someone would answer, they would ask him to make a donation.
Mason said he tried to go back to school at Florida State College at Jacksonville, but without the Track Program mentors and tutors, he failed his classes. He's working with a separate mentor program and said he wanted to help homeless vets.
Erick Millette, one of the three WWP whistleblowers who came forward to News4Jax, currently works with helping the homeless find housing in Jacksonville. News4Jax put Mason in touch with Millette, who has taken Mason under his wing and is helping him to volunteer and hopefully, get back on track.