Brendan Marrocco
SGT. US Army

Quadruple amputee
Injured in Iraq on April 12, 2009

In the early hours on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, Brendan Marrocco was returning to base in Iraq from a night mission in an armored vehicle when he tripped a roadside bomb; Brendan's arms and legs were blown off. Other injuries included a severed left carotid artery; broken nose, left eye socket and facial bones; shrapnel to the left eye and face; burns to the neck and face and more. "Any one of his injuries was life-threatening," Major Jayson Aydelotte, the trauma surgeon told the New York Times. "It's incredible." Read More

Todd Nicely
CPL. US Marines

Quadruple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on March 26, 2010

On March 26, 2010, Corporal Nicely was leading his 1st Squad infantrymen back from a security patrol in Afghanistan, just as he began to cross the bridge he stepped on a pressure plate mine. Todd lost all his limbs on that battlefield. Amazingly Todd's take on his injury would humble most of us. He said, "I consider myself pretty lucky. I wake up every morning and figure I have a second chance at life... so I get up and go." Read More

Juan Dominguez
CPL. US Marines

Triple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on October 23, 2010

On October 23, 2010, when Cpl. Juan Dominguez slipped down a small embankment while out on patrol and landed on a buried bomb, the explosion could be heard for miles. His legs were severed above the knee, and his right arm was mangled and could not be saved. In the first moments he awoke from his coma he said to his nurse, "Don't be sad for me Ma'am, I would do it again for my country." Read More

Tyler Huffman
CPL. US Marines

Paralyzed
Injured in Afghanistan on December 3, 2010

Cpl. Tyler Huffman, a husband and father, was asked in an interview, what he would want people to know about being a Marine and fighting for our country. He replied, "That freedom is not free, it has a price. It always has and always will." It was in the process of defending and protecting us in Afghanistan that on December 3, 2010 Tyler suffered injuries from two shots into his chest that left him paralyzed." Read More

John Peck
Sgt. US Marines

Quadruple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on May 24, 2010

Sgt. John Peck was wounded on May 24, 2010 while on his second tour of duty with the Marines and serving in Afghanistan. An IED blew off both his legs and one arm, and soon after he battled infections that ultimately caused his other arm to be amputated as well. This happened just two years after he tore the right front lobe of his brain when his vehicle ran over an IED. When Peck recovered from his first injuries he felt compelled to go back to be with his brothers in combat. Peck was a Marine through and through. In fact, Sgt. Peck's mother is a Marine too!" Read More

Joe Wilkinson
Tech Sgt. US Air Force

Gulf War Syndrome
Paralyzed from degenerative nerve damage

Tech Sgt. Joseph Wilkinson was a member of Security Forces for the United States Air Force. His tours of duty involved both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Joe is the father of three, who finds himself in a humbling and disheartening circumstance. Joe is paralyzed from degenerative nerve condition, part of a Gulf War Syndrome, a chronic, multi-symptom illness believed to be caused by toxic chemicals." Read More

Kyle Hockenberry
SPC US ARMY

Triple amputee
Injured June 15, 2011 in Afghanistan

SPC Kyle Hockenberry's tattoo etched on his torso says it all about this wounded hero... For those I love, I will sacrifice. They are powerful words carried close to the heart of Kyle who sacrificed so much for his family, friends, community, and all of us fortunate enough to claim the Untied States as our home. On June 15, 2011, a blast from an improvised explosive device cost him most of both legs and his left arm. And yet Kyle still stated, "I just always wanted to fight for my country, I'd do it all over again if I could." Read More

Todd Love
Cpl. US Marines

Triple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan October 25, 2010

Cpl. Todd Love was point man on foot patrol in Afghanistan on the morning of Oct. 25, 2010, when he triggered an IED causing him to lose both his legs and ultimately his left arm. Todd recounts that although he was so severely wounded, he felt that God was with him the whole time." Read More

Michael Schlitz
SFC US ARMY

double Amputee / 85% of body burned
Injured in Iraq during 2007

SFC Michael Schlitz and his crew were in Baghdad doing a basic road-clearing mission in 2007 to find the IEDs. Schiltz states, "There's only two ways that happens: either it finds you or you find it first. Unfortunately, it found us that day." Two artillery shells attached to a propane tank went off and destroyed Schlitz's truck and threw him away from the blast with his entire body on fire." Read More

JB Kerns
Cpl. US Marines

Triple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on April 7, 2011

There was a thunderous roar of the motorcycles to herald the homecoming of JB as the motorcade brought him back to his hometown of Ararat, Virginia. The motorcade was a living tribute to a local hero who served in Afghanistan for three tours of duty. The Patriot Guard Riders wanted to show JB their gratitude and respect for his service for America's freedom. JB Kerns, a combat engineer, was on a mine sweep in a safety zone, on April 7, 2011 in Afghanistan. In one second, his third tour of duty took a catastrophic turn. JB lost three of his limbs and sustained other serious injuries to his chest and groin areas from shrapnel from an IED that detonated." Read More

Bryan Dilberian
SPC US ARMY

Triple amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on July 1, 2011

On July 1, 2011, Bryan, a gutsy Brooklyn boy, began the fight of his life. While on a routine patrol in Afghanistan an IED exploded. Instantly, Bryan's best friend, PFC Jimmy Waters, was killed. In that moment, Bryan was also hit by shrapnel and critically wounded. His battle began. On the field he was given first aid, and within 4 days journeyed to Kandahar, Germany, and then home to the United States. Initially, Bryan lost an enormous amount of blood, but miraculously the..." Read More

Adam Keys
SGT US ARMY

Triple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan on July 14, 2010

Army SGT Adam Keys lost both his legs and his left arm after a roadside bomb exploded on July 14, 2010 in Afghanistan. Adam would later learn the bomb took the lives of four soldiers, including his best friend, Jesse Reed, of Whitehall. The journey since July 14th has been lifethreatening many times for Adam. He suffered brain injury and many broken bones when his truck was struck by the bomb. However, it was an infection in his blood stream that ultimately resulted in the loss of his 3 limbs. He "coded" a couple of times and needed to be brought back to life." Read More

Michael Nicholson
Sgt. US Marine

Triple Amputee / Traumatic Brain Injury
Injured in Afghanistan July 6, 2011

On July 6, 2011, Sgt. Nicholson was on combat foot patrol when he was injured by an IED in Afghanistan, causing him to lose both legs and his left arm and suffer a brain injury. Eight months after arriving at the National Naval Medical Center, Sgt. Michael Nicholson came home to Tampa, Florida greeted by thousands of supporters. At his church, he spoke to the crowd, "I just want to ask for one more thing; please pray for the guys still in Afghanistan right now and for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines recovering in Bethesda, San Antonio and Balboa. Pray for the ones who didn't make it back." Read More

Thomas McRae
SSgt. US Marine

Triple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan January 16, 2012

Tom McRae joined the Marines fresh out of school. He served three combat tours in Iraq and was serving on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team leader when he was injured from an IED. He was patrolling a Marine patrol base on foot on Jan. 16, 2012 to investigate an explosive threat, when an improvised explosive device was detonated under him. Both of McRae's legs and his left arm were amputated, and he sustained injuries to his brain and eyes." Read More

John E. Masson
MSG. US ARMY

Triple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan October 16, 2010

MSG John E. Masson is no stranger to serving our Country. He served in the US Army in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, in the Indiana Army National Guard, the Ohio Army National Guard and the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), and was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. On October 16, 2010, while conducting Village Stability Operations in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, MSG Masson stepped on an improvised explosive device and sacrificed three extremities to preserve freedom for us. Read More

Ben Tomlinson
Sgt. US Marine

Quadriplegic Paralyzed From Chest Down
Injured in Afghanistan

Marine Sgt. Ben Tomlinson's first war injury occurred in 2009, in Afghanistan, when he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar that struck a nearby building. Tomlinson returned to Afghanistan in November 2010 for another seven month stint. It was then that he was injured standing on a rooftop in an Afghanistan village as troops searched for bomb-making materials and weapons. Shot through the upper back and left gasping for breath after a bullet ripped through his chest, Ben wasn't afraid of dying. Paralyzed from the chest down, Tomlinson was haunted by the idea that people back home wouldn't remember him, that they wouldn't even know he was hurt. Read More

Mark Litynski
Cpl. US Marine

Triple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan November 19, 2010

Cpl. Mark Litynski always wanted to be in the Marine Corps, so after a year in college he decided to enlist, despite leaving behind his girlfriend Heather whom he knew he would miss. After two years and a Marine expedition deployment, Mark and Heather were married. During Mark's second deployment in Afghanistan, he volunteered to be the point man on a foot patrol, where on November 19, 2010 he stepped on an IED. He suffered a bilateral above knee amputation and amputation of his left forearm." Read More

Taylor Morris
EOD2. US Navy

Quadruple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan May 3, 2012

Taylor Morris was an Explosive Ordinance Disposal tech, leading a team in Afghanistan, when he stepped on an IED. It exploded underneath him and blew off all four of his limbs. Taylor recalled the moment in an interview, "As soon as I stepped on it, I knew. There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the heat. I knew I had lost my legs. As I summersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off." Read More

Travis Mills
SSG. US ARMY

Quadruple Amputee
Injured in Afghanistan April 10, 2012

"Help My Soldiers," Travis Mills yelled several times at a medic, only minutes after he, himself, had his legs and arms blown off after stepping on an IED. That is just his way, a bigger than life kind of guy, calling the shots, despite his own life threatening injuries, protecting and caring for his men. Travis, a weapons squad leader, headed out with two dozen soldiers and an explosive ordinance disposal team on April 10, 2012. They approached an abandoned Afghanistan National Army security post, which consisted of two portable buildings. Read More

DOUG VITALE
Cpl. US Marine

Double amputee / Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
injured in Afghanistan September 25, 2011

Marine Corporal Doug Vitale and his wife, Alexis, had their lives turned upside down on September 25, 2011 when he was seriously injured by an IED explosion. He suffered amputations of both legs as well as a severe traumatic brain injury. Doug is a 2005 graduate of Kiski Area High School and native of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the football and wrestling teams. Doug joined the Marine Corps in October 2007, and being in the infantry was the only thing he wanted to do. Read More

Ben Harrow
CPT. US ARMY

Double amputee & Severe Hand Injury
injured in Afghanistan May 15, 2012

Captain Ben Harrow, US Army, is an accomplished officer, a leader of Army "Green Beret" soldiers, and a decorated American Hero. Motivated by Duty, Honor, and Country, Ben attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and received the "Unsung Hero" award his senior year. CPT Harrow has always been self-motivated, demonstrating purposefulness in every endeavor. In 2006, he emerged as Infantry Platoon Leader and prepared for his first 15 month combat deployment to Iraq. Ben earned the rank of Captain and fulfilled his duties as an adept commander of Unconventional Warfare units in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Read More

Travis Green
GySgt. US Marine

Double amputee
injured in Afghanistan September 2011

Gunnery Sgt. Travis Green enlisted in 1999 after recovering from injuries resulting from a car accident. After graduating from Marine Combat Training and Air Traffic Control School in 2000, Travis proceeded to Okinawa, Japan. When attached to Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS-1) in Yuma Arizona, Travis was deployed in January 2003 to Kuwait during the initial invasion of Iraq. In July of 2004, he was deployed to Iraq with MACS-1 where he received a Navy Achievement Medal for his accomplishments. Read More

Matthew Lammers
SSG. US ARMY

Triple amputee
injured in Iraq June 10, 2007

Staff Sergeant (SSG) Lammers received two Purple Hearts while serving in Iraq. On June 10, 2007 SSG Lammers and his men were returning to their base in Baghdad when the Humvee drove over an EFP (explosively formed projectile). Matt was scheduled for a trip home, but switched places to let another soldier go home for his first wedding anniversary. "Everybody keeps calling me a hero," he says. "I have a hard time hearing that. I was just a soldier doing his job. The heroes are the men and women still over there. ... I got to come back. I didn't die. That's a blessing." Read More

Rusty Dunagan
SGT. US ARMY

Triple amputee
injured in Afghanistan on September 22, 2010

Rusty Lee Dunagan originally of Guthrie, Oklahoma, always knew he would join the military, but after the 2001 attack his conviction grew stronger, and in 2006 he decided to join the Army. On September 22, 2010, Rusty was on a patrol in Afghanistan when he encountered an IED, causing him to lose both legs and his left arm. Since that day, he has overcome serious infections and endured over thirty surgeries. Rusty is a married father and stepfather. Angie his wife gave birth to their baby daughter, a few months before being deployed. Rusty was on his second overseas tour of duty when he was wounded." Read More

Christian Brown
Cpl. USMC

Double amputee
injured Afghanistan on December 13, 2011

Corporal Christian A. Brown was born on November 11, 1983 in Tupelo, MS. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 12, 2009 and was deployed to Marjah, Afghanistan, during one of the most notable surges in OIF/OEF history. He returned home safely from this first deployment in July of 2010. A year later he redeployed to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, and was shortly moved to the cities of Sangin and Kajaki, where he endured several firefights before being injured. During his second deployment, he led 163 combat missions as a squad leader, which was unheard of as a LCpl. As a result, LCpl. Brown was meritoriously promoted to Cpl. while in country." Read More