Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Burnt soldier continues service




The easiest place in the world to become bitter or cop a bad attitude is in the military. Ask anyone who has served. Patriotism wears off tends to wear off quickly in the "hurry up an wait" environment. Boredom, cynism, and loneliness sets in serving far from home. That's why the following story is so remarkable.

"On a cold December morning in 2005, Del Toro, a brawny sergeant trained to call in airstrikes, was tracking the Taliban near Kabul when his Humvee hit an explosive.

Del Toro had burns over 80 percent of his body. As he waited for a helicopter, his buddies kept reminding him to stay awake, for his wife and young son.

After three months in a medically induced coma, Del Toro regained consciousness at Brooke Army Medical Center and was given only a 20 percent chance of living. Doctors said he might not walk again and might be on a ventilator for life."

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/military/83840892.html?ua=i&c=y

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1 comment:

Billy Atwell said...

It's amazing how heroic these men and women are. People often rise to the occasion when faced with adversity such as this.

I wrote about our soldiers recently: http://billyatwell.blogspot.com/2010/01/soldiers-are-not-heroes-news-to-me.html