Posted on 04/09/2010 9:30:49 PM PDT by rawhide
He has no legs and no eyesight, but Marine Cpl. Matthew Bradford has four more years of military service ahead of him after becoming the first blind double-amputee to re-enlist.
The rifleman was injured in January 2007 in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded right under him, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
But after years at the Center for the Intrepid, a privately funded, cutting-edge rehabilitation center, Bradford, 23, has learned to walk with prosthetic limbs and navigate without his vision, and he only regrets that he cant return to combat duty in Iraq, the paper reported.
Instead the Kentucky native will head to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he will work with other wounded Marines in hopes of helping them cope with anger, depression and other issues.
"I'm paving the road for the rest of them who want to stay in but think they can't," he told the Express-News. "I'm ready to get back to work."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Corporal Matthew Bradford is sworn in by Lt. Col. David Barnes as he re-enlists in the Marines at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas April 7, 2010. Tom Reel/Staff
Dayum.....God Bless ‘em....
OORAH!
Examples like this man are why I have little patience with the myriad secessionist threads that have popped up here.
I see what this man has given for his country and still will give, and I will not rest until the country is worthy of him.
When I sit at the dinner table and have to talk around subjects that might worry my children like health insurance or Daddy’s job, I can understand why people wonder if this country will be pushed to the breaking point. Talking of secession as a last resort is not unpatriotic. People are genuinely concerned and alarmed and do not know what the future holds. They see their country crumbling all around them. They wonder what they would do should their neighbor ask them to help defend them. The criminal cabal in Washington is not going to give up its power easily and it has a death grip. It’s aim is to dismantle America and replace it with something that is unrecognizable to most Americans.
I know why you give this man honor. But remember, Obama would use him as a photo op, he sees no dignity and honor in military service. He does not respect this man or his sacrifice. He is throwing away the very freedoms that this man fought for in battle.
I thank God for this young man and his selfless service to our GREAT NATION!! Cpl. Bradford, you’re one of my HEROES!!!
As a veteran of the Viet Nam Conflict there is no way I would enlist today with the Communist Coward-in-Chief as my Commanding Officer.
I well understand what brings the secessionist threads out in the open.
Now there’s a man with guts. Wow!
Armies are to secure victory, kill people and break things.
Armies cannot retain all the injured and complete the mission.
Should we get rid of the Chaplains then?
The blind ones.
“I see what this man has given for his country and still will give, and I will not rest until the country is worthy of him.”
Will he have given himself for a country that allows sodomites to openly corrupt the morale of the U.S. military?
Will he have given himself for a country that takes moms away from their babies and puts them in a combat zone?
Will he have given himself for socialism and neo-nazi-ism from the federal government?
Give the man a job doing what is mentioned in this article? Yes! But do it right for all concerned. Make him a civilian Tech Rep. Also give him his due pension and compensation for injury. But folks the physical requirements and standards of the armed forces are there for a very good reason. He is being allowed this as a political pawn.
Allowing him to stay in uniform shows him he is not forgotten and allows other Wounded Warriors to see him overcome his obstacles. It gives hope to those WW Marines that may be able to return to full duty. Nothing like seeing a brother in arms IN UNIFORM overcoming obstacles for you to srive to do the same. Also, it llows him to work with those WW that need therapy before being released into the civilian world. Lastly, it probably helps him with therapy before he enters the civilian world.
I imagine programs like these will also help decrease suicide rates of wounded veterans. WW is not not political.
God Bless this Marine.
For every Corporal Bradford, there are twenty slackjaw ne’er do wells who routinely say “I ain’t ever fighting for this country.”
God bless and keep him safe from all further harm, and thank you for your service!
Thank you for your service to our Country and welcome home.
For every Corporal Bradford, there are one hundred (or so) bureaucrats in the Obama Administration destroying the country that he fought for.
Sad, but true.
“For every Corporal Bradford, there are twenty slackjaw neer do wells who routinely say I aint ever fighting for this country.”
Really? Is that another one of your guesses or are you basing that on something.
From my observations theres 20 of this kind of guy to every pot smokin hippie.
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