Staff Sergeant Michael Lage was the only survivor of a roadside bomb that killed four others in Baghdad in 2007.

He was in a coma for three-and-a-half weeks. He lost his left hand, right thumb, parts of his nose and ears and suffered burns to 39 percent of his body.

And Lage says he’s one of the lucky ones.

Because he returned to America and had his family and a support system helping with his recovery.

“There are a lot of soldiers who don’t have that,” said Lage, who served three tours in Iraq. “You come back from war and everything can change physically, mentally and financially. It can feel like another grenade being thrown at you.””

Lage was helping other soldiers on Tuesday by being a waiter at the first Heroes at the Grill dinner. The dinner benefits Wish For Our Heroes, a foundation with the priority of serving basic needs for soldiers.

All of the proceeds the dinner at The Grill at Leon Springs will go to local military members and families who are struggling with needs such as food, shelter, medical expenses, child needs and transportation.

The dinner had a familiar face as master of ceremonies: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

“People do forget about our soldiers,” Popovich said. “Life is so complicated for everybody, and it’s easy to make statements like ‘we respect your service’ and ‘we’ll never forget you,’ but a lot of soldiers get forgotten because that’s the real world. It’s important for all of us to make sure that we understand that fact so we keep doing things like this. It’s always necessary and always will be.”

Former Army Captain Jeff Wells founded Wish For Our Heroes in 2009, when he saw soldiers who were struggling with their return from war. The foundation started out by standing on street corners and collecting donations in military boots.

They’ve since provided assistance for more than 2,100 military families. Last year, Wish For Our Heroes gave $300,000 to military families for food alone.

Wells said Popovich has offered support since the foundation’s launch, for everything from donating tickets to visiting with soldiers.

“Pop’s very passionate about helping out the military,” Wells said. “He does so much, most of which nobody hears about. He’s been there from the very beginning and believed in us when a lot of people didn’t.”

As Wells’ foundation continues to grow, the need for assistance for military members grows as well.

The foundation accepts donations at wishforourheroes.org. Another way to give a $10 donation is by texting “AMERICA” to 20222.

“A lot of people assume that if you join the military, you’re taken care of,” Wells said. “In reality, basic needs are big challenges. Many military members are going to have a hard time feeding their families this Thanksgiving. That’s a hard thing for people to understand, and a tough pill to swallow.”

When Lage returned from Iraq, his parents moved to Texas from Georgia to help Lage while he rehabbed at Brooke Army Medical Center, spending most of their savings in the process.

One soldier at Tuesday’s dinner, Army Cpl. Brandon Walden, was shot four times in Afghanistan in 2012, when he was 20-years-old. His family moved from California to Texas to help with his years of recovery, but they’ve faced a mountain of bills.

Enter Wish For Our Heroes, which has helped Walden pay off many of his outstanding bills.

Soldiers expect and prepare for combat, Wells said. But they aren’t always prepared for smaller things back home, which turn into much bigger problems.

Wells said he hopes Wish For Our Heroes can alleviate some of those problems before they become big issues, and maybe it can help with military divorce and suicide rates in the process.

On Tuesday, Lage, Walden and other soldiers told their stories and spoke of how much foundations such as Wish For Our Heroes mean to them. How much it means to know that they aren’t forgotten.

“You feel humbled by this, when you think about the way these soldiers are going way beyond for us,” said Armand Obadia, an owner of the Grill at Leon Springs. “We want to honor these military men in any way we can.”

For one former Air Force Captain, spending time with wounded warriors and supporting a worthy cause on Tuesday weighed more heavily than his day job.

“You have to get more satisfaction in life than putting a ball in a hoop,” Popovich said. “We always try to find things to make the fuller and make them satisfying. When you can be a part of something that helps a major portion of the population, frankly, you feel good inside. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

lchan@attcenter.com

Twitter:@lornechan