Posted on 03/29/2005 2:35:33 PM PST by rightalien
WASHINGTON — Cpl. Jemel Daniels was a gunner on patrol with his unit in Iskandere, Iraq (search), when his Humvee hit a makeshift bomb on the side of the road.
"I shot out of the turret 30 feet into the air and fell into a ditch on the side of the road. My friends dragged me across the road. Just two of us actually got out and three passed away," the corporal said.
Daniels works out hard without appearing to give much thought now to his injuries — an amputated left leg, a battered arm and a shattered right foot now stabilized by painful steel pins running through it. None of his wounds have deterred his future plans.
"I'm staying active duty," he said.
It used to be that soldiers who lost arms or legs in battle would be headed home for good. But more and more seriously wounded soldiers are telling the U.S. Army (search) that they want to get back to their posts. It's a phenomenon that's caught the attention of the military's top brass and even President Bush.
"Americans would be surprised to learn that a grievous injury such as the loss of a limb no longer means forced discharge," Bush noted in a speech at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (search) in December 2003.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRAFICE, AND EXTRA THANK YOU TO YOUR FAMILIES.
C-Span2 aires reports with wounded soldiers at 9:30 pm every night this week.
I wonder if the military can't (should?) make use of these soldiers' prosthetic devices by installing special weapons, electronics, compartments, tools, etc. Quasi-bionic soldiers?
* ping * to FMC.
Thanks for posting. That was a great piece on Fox. Doubt if the rest of the MSM will pick up on it though. We owe everything to our soldiers, and most especially to those who continue on with such injuries. Thank you for your service. You are all the greatest!
Cpl. Jemel Daniels for Congress! And why not? He'd probably be a lot better than any of the toons up there now.
Not only do these guys keep me safe, but they inspire me as well. Whenever I think I might have more than I can handle, I see a story like this. Thank you to every soldier and Marine who has ever fought in any war.
God bless these soldiers.
This is really humbling for civilians such as myself who owe so much to them.
CSPAN interviewed a few of the amputees last night who are at Walter Reed Army hospital. If you didn't get to see it, you should! Talk about the best of the best!
These folks are the bravest men and women God ever created!
Not an ounce of quit in them!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
NOW is the time for the government to pony up a lot of research for cybernetic prostheses for these guys.
From the bio of Gen Fred Franks, VII Corps Commander in the Gulf War. They can blow off our guys arms and legs, but they'll still come back and fight. This isn't new and I don't know why, the know-it-alls always think Americans are weak and give up easily. Never was, never will be true.
We will hear this spun to sound like we are in such a quagmire that we are having to put our wounded soldiers back on the line.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
Yeah, that's it! Re-ups are at an all time low, but the evil oil barons at Halliburton and in the White House need more troops to continue the imperialism!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.