Overcoming Adversity

Overcoming personal tragedy, inspiring others

by Senior Airman Joshua Stevens  28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

3/5/2008 (Updated 7/16/2009 ) - ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- Upon seeing him, one would never suspect a difference between him and any other uniformed servicemember.

He stands tall, exhibiting a more-than-personable attitude and fervor for military professionalism.

However, there is more to this Airman than anyone would immediately suspect. 
 
In May 2007, Master Sgt. Ronald Heller, 28th Operations Support Squadron intelligence flight superintendent, lost the lower half of one leg due to cardiovascular blood complications, but gained a renewed vigor for his outlook on life.

Master Sgt. Ronald Heller, 28th Operations Support Squadron intelligence flight superintendent, stretches with his coworkers during a group physical training session at the Pride Hanger March 20.

The Problem Arises

During a deployment to Guam in the first half of 2006, Sergeant Heller began to notice he was having odd sensations in his foot.

Amputee gets commission through Army ROTC

BY By Paul Kotakis, Cadet Command Public Affairs Officer

FORT MONROE, Va. (Dec. 22, 2008) -- The blast of a roadside bomb in Iraq's Sunni Triangle resulted in the amputation of a portion of Richard Ingram's left arm. But it did not rob him of his dream of becoming an officer in America's Army.

Ingram's dream became a reality Dec. 13 when he graduated from North Georgia College & State University and took the oath of office as a lieutenant.

He is the first individual with such severe combat injuries sustained during the Global War on Terrorism to earn a commission through the Army ROTC program.

Richard T. Ingram (right) takes the oath of office as a second lieutenant during ceremonies conducted at North Georgia College & State University on Dec. 13. Administering the oath is 1st Lt. Robert Morris, a 2005 graduate of North Georgia. Photo by Kate Maine, North Georgia College & State University

The LaGrange, Ga. native was serving with the 48th Brigade Combat Team of the Georgia Army National Guard as a cavalry scout when his tactical vehicle was struck by an explosive device and rolled several times.

In speaking of that June 2005 experience Ingram said, "I didn't think there was any way I was going to live through it when the truck started rolling.

Lt. Col. Maxwell’s Own Story

Confined at first to bed and then a wheelchair, he had difficulty speaking and walking. Photos of him receiving a Purple Heart show scarlet bruises under both eyes and a raised red surgical scar snaking across his temple.

Maxwell’s combat injuries and subsequent surgeries have resulted in his having a difficult time remembering certain words, a condition called “anomia,” but he cannot ––and will not forget about his Marines. Maxwell was Ops Officer for the 24th MEU, II MEF.

Today, Maxwell is able to swim, lift weights and run three miles.

He has taught himself to read again, beginning with children's books. His speech pathologist,

Lt. Col. Maxwell’s New Mission: Taking Care of the Wounded

No One Can Understand the Singular Suffering of the Wounded Like Their Injured Comrades.  So One is Leading the Way in Ministering to Them.

Wounded Up Close and Personal

07-31-2005 A hospital therapist presses down hard against a ridge of crimson scar tissue on the shattered left leg of LCpl. Donald Ferguson. Ferguson grits his teeth.

His face red and contorted, Ferguson tries to snap to attention as a lieutenant colonel approaches. The Officer's hair is cropped close on top and shaved on the sides, revealing a jagged pink scar across his left temple from a combat wound.

Wounded Airman Lives for Son.....

Face of Defense: Wounded Airman Lives for Son, Hopes to Stay on Active Duty

By Samantha L. Quigley American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2008 – Air Force Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro has made remarkable strides in his recovery in the three years and 102 surgeries since he and his team were ambushed by the Taliban in the mountains near Qalat, Afghanistan.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro works out at the Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, fitness center. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

His fight to survive started on that mountain, where he refused to leave his 3-year-old son fatherless. He’d lost his father early in life and vowed his son wouldn’t know what that was like.

The fight intensified when he woke up in the intensive care unit at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

“They told me I was going to be in the hospital for another year, that I may or may not walk again, [and] that I was going to be stuck on a respirator for the rest of my life,” Del Toro said. “I sat there for a few seconds and came back with, ‘You can kiss my ass,’” he said.

Officer Works to Walk Again

By Heather Graham
Special to American Forces Press Service

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 16, 2009 – Five months ago, Army Lt. Col. Tim Karcher was in Sadr City, Iraq, commanding the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, and preparing to complete the hand-off of the volatile region to the Iraqis.

Army Lt. Col. Tim Karcher and his wife, Alesia, leave a physical therapy session at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Nov. 6, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Heather Graham   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Today, he is relearning how to walk.

On June 28, Karcher was on his way to a ceremony to hand over control of a joint security station in Sadr City to Iraq, when a powerful roadside bomb designed to pierce armor ripped through the mine-resistant, ambush protected vehicle in which he was riding. Karcher lost both legs above the knees.

It was Karcher’s third deployment. He was shot in his left shoulder in January 2006 during his second deployment, but recovered quickly and returned to his unit in Iraq six months later. This time, things were different.

Karcher was transferred from the U.S. Army Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on July 5. There, complications arose. Amputation of both legs above the knees was not the most serious of his injuries.

"It all comes down to the Soldier creed. I will never quit."

Drill Sergeant determined to return Army Strong

By Charmain Z. Brackett

Oct 5, 2009  A sudden accident may have cost Staff Sgt. Luis Elias his hand, but it hasn't stripped him of his positive attitude or impacted his plans for the future.

"Hopefully, in about a month or so, I'll be back to being a drill sergeant," said Elias, who is currently receiving treatment at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit.

Staff Sgt. Luis Elias has no problem with his push-ups. He also finished the Ironman run, 13.1 miles in just over two hours.  Photo credit Charmain Z. Brackett

On June 30, Elias was training his new Soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga. when

Portrait of a Hero: Retired SGT Richard Yarosh

September 1, 2006 found the (then) Private First Class (PFC) Richard Yarosh manning the turret of a Bradley assault vehicle.  He was back out on patrol going down a road they had been on "a million times."  PFC Yaroshand his group had been in Iraq since December of 2005.  He joined the Army as a Cavalry scout back in 2004.  PFC Yarosh started as a driver when they first arrived in Iraq, later becoming the gunner.  They had been patrolling in Abu Ghraib region of Iraq when the Bradley he manned was hit by a roadside bomb.  PFC Yaroshs' life took an unexpected turn.

The fuel tank blew, engulfing not only the Bradley in flames, but also Yarosh, who jumped blindly from the turret.  In the process of jumping from the Bradley, Yarosh broke his leg, severing an artery.  To compound that, he was on fire, engulfed in flames.

Sergeant Merlin German, USMC

Passing of Sgt. Merlin German

By Lt. Col. Olbrich, Officer in Charge, Marine Patient Affairs Team, Brooke Army Medical Center

Sgt Merlin German’s death on 11 Apr 08 shook Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) unlike any other that we have seen in the past three years.

(L to R) Lt. General James Amos, Sgt. Merlin German, and Sgt German.s Mother, Yvonne German at his meritorious promotion to Sgt. In December of 2006.

Word of his unexpected death, on a Friday night the day after his 100+ surgery, spread quickly among the hospital staff. Within an hour, the commanding general, all of his deputy commanders, and most of the Burn Center’s off-duty nurses, therapists, and doctors were coming in to the ICU room and say goodbye to Merlin and grieve with his parents.

On 21 Feb 2004, then LCpl German, 2/11, was on convoy duty traveling through Ramadi when his humvee was attacked with an IED. He arrived at BAMC on 25 Feb with 3rd degree burns covering 97% of his total body surface area and a 3% chance of living. He was an inpatient for 499 days, celebrated two birthdays, and was meritoriously promoted twice. Despite countless setbacks and seemingly unrecoverable illnesses, Merlin simply refused to quit.

The first time I saw Merlin, I was looking at him through the ICU room window. I was thinking, "Please don’t make me go in there please don’t make me go in there..."

"I am here today because my team saved my life"

Wounded warrior, wife, share experiences with Schweinfurt community

By Mark Heeter (USAG Schweinfurt)

Oct 1, 2009  SCHWEINFURT, Germany -- One hundred twenty-nine pints of blood poured into Lt. Col. Greg Gadson's body in the single night that Soldiers, doctors and a vast team of others brought together by a roadside bomb fought together to save his life.

Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who lost both legs in an IED attack in Iraq in 2007, shares a moment with fellow artilleryman, Capt. David Evetts, commander of Battery D, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, at the Ledward Theater, Sept. 29. Photo credit Mark Heeter (USAG Schweinfurt)

"I am here today because my team saved my life. And I like to say it twice. I am here today, sitting here on the stage, or walking through the room, because my team saved my life," said Gadson, joined on the Ledward Theater stage by his wife, Kim, for a talk with the Schweinfurt community Tuesday.

Gadson, a four-year letterman as a football player at West Point, talked at length about teams, especially the one comprised of his Soldiers that night.