On October 27, 2008 Sgt. Joey Bozik and his wife Jayme received a set of keys to their new home. Those keys literally fell from the sky in the hands of a Black Dagger!
Slightly over four years ago, Sgt. Bozik, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers, was injured when the Humvee he was riding in passed over an anti-tank mine, which exploded. Sgt. Bozik was 26 years old at the time. Weeks later, waking from a coma on October 27, 2004, he saw his room was filled with family and friends. It was at that time that he learned about the loss of both legs and his right arm. Joey asked that everyone but his fiancee leave the room, please!
He then spoke to Jayme. "Things you would be able to do with a regular man, I wasn't going to be able to do anymore," he says. "I told her, 'There won't be any hard feelings. I will completely understand.'" He was giving her permission to break off and walk away from him and his new life. A life that would be very different from the one they had envisioned for themselves. Jayme refused. "I loved him for who he was in his heart, and he still had that. And I loved him for what he had in his mind, and he still had that."
Eight weeks later, Sgt. Joey Bozik, dressed in a tuxedo, wheeled down the aisle of a chapel to marry his fiancee, Jayme Peters. Sgt. Bozik faced many operations and extensive physical therapy in the months to come. With Jayme by his side, he has faced it all, and thanks to his own strong constitution and an upbeat attitude, they have moved forward.
Sgt. Bozik participated in a golf tournament, on October 25, 2007 in Mesquite, Nevada.
Standing on prosthetic legs and swinging with a prosthetic
right forearm, U.S. Army Sgt. Joey Bozik admires his ceremonial first drive of
the 2007 Military Long Drive Championship presented by Cadbury Schweppes Oct. 25
in Mesquite, Nev. Photo by Tim
Hipps
On May 30, 2008 Jayme and Joey helped break ground for their new home. A home that was to be provided by Operation Coming Home. Not only did they provide the house, they filled it with furniture to make it a home for Joey, Jayme and their soon to be new addition to the family. The baby is due to arrive at the very end of December. Here are many photos of the house in progress along with the furnishings being brought in by a host of volunteers.
When you move into a new house, in a new part of town, it often takes a bit before you meet the neighbors. Not this time. On Monday, it was done a bit differently, and definitely in a style befitting one of our Army's finest! Check out the blog at Confederate Yankee and his post "Just A Guy in My Neighborhood".
"Bozik and his pregnant wife were moving in Monday, because Oct. 27 is his "Alive Day" – the anniversary of the day he came out of coma from his injuries." Confederate Yankee is a neighbor of Joey's and has some great photos of the Black Daggers bringing the keys to their (the Bozik's) new home, as the Black Daggers parachuted in, the overflight and landing of the three Black Hawks and the happy couple themselves.
Thanks to BlackFive and their support, the support of Operation Coming Home, the constant stream of volunteers, Sgt. Joey Blazik, his wife Jayme and their soon to be newest family member, are still moving forward and making positive things happen in their lives. Be sure to check back later at Confederate Yankee's site, as he has promised more pictures of the happy couple.
Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.
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