|
Posted on 09/06/2004 5:05:08 PM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
|
~*~
 Christobal Perez / Chronicle
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Briscoe, who lost his right arm during an attack in Iraq, receives a hometown hug from Lavinia Pruit on Thursday.
|
He had spent 17 years in the military and trained as a Green Beret to be prepared for anything. But he admitted nothing had prepared him for being welcomed back as a hometown hero in Ames, population 1,085, east of Houston in Liberty County.
"Different organizations have welcomed me home. I received a Purple Heart and met the president, but this is by far the best," said the 36-year-old Briscoe, wiping back a tear.
He thought he was coming back for a family reunion with his mother and nine siblings. But instead, the town poured out to greet him with flags, signs, a saxophonist playing The Star-Spangled Banner, speeches and even a police escort.
Friends and neighbors clapped and cameras flashed as Briscoe, using his new prosthetic arm, drove his wife and four daughters, ranging in age from 5 months to 12 years old, into town from Louisiana.
"How can I not get over my injury? It would do a disservice to those still over there or those who did not come home if I gave up," he said.
He has regained use of his right arm through the prosthetic that clamps onto the stub below his shoulder, and his left arm has been saved through skin and bone grafts during multiple reconstructive surgeries.
"Those days in the hospital were good times and bad times. But your cards, telephone calls and prayers helped pull me through," he told a crowd of about 100.
In fact, his sister, Donna Young of Houston, said Briscoe received so many cards that they covered his room like wallpaper.
Briscoe was wounded Oct. 31, a month after his second posting in Iraq, while on patrol in an unmarked sport utility vehicle, his family said.
The first sign of trouble came when a rocket-propelled grenade skipped off the hood of his vehicle without doing serious damage.
His team decided to go after the shooter, but suddenly more combatants joined the fray and he found himself under heavy fire, his sister said.
As the communications expert, he tried to scramble to the radio when another grenade knocked him to the ground.
"I didn't realize the extent to which I was hurt until I tried to pick up my weapon" and found he had no arm left to hold it, he said.
"Now, what do I do? I can't stop there. Bullets are still flying. I had to find a way out," he said.
He remembers reciting the Lord's Prayer and praying that his children would not have to grow up without a father and that his team would make it back safely.
With the help of his Army buddies, he commandeered another vehicle and made it back to the base without further injury, his family said.
He even managed to walk 50 yards to the gate and climb onto the gurney, his sister said.
"I feel blessed to be given another chance to be a father," he said, recalling how thrilled he was to be able to leave the hospital briefly to see his youngest daughter born on Jan. 28.
He is well-known to residents in the town. They recall him being somewhat of a prankster, but at the same time serving as an altar boy in the Catholic church there as soon as he was old enough. He also gained local fame as a cross-country track star by placing third in state competition in 1984.
"You are one of our own. Welcome home," said Liberty County Commissioner Todd Fontenot, donning his own U.S. Navy uniform.
Briscoe's 81-year-old mother, Rosalie, said her son comforted her when she visited him at the hospital: "He tells me, `I'm alive. Don't worry about me.' "
Briscoe said he has no regrets about his military service. He sees it as his way of helping keep his town, founded by black immigrants from Louisiana in 1894, free.
"There's an enemy out there that definitely wants to take away our freedom," he said.
But Thursday, the town wanted to give him something.
"We wanted to show our support. Let him know that he won't be forgotten," said Percy Donatto, commander of Ames' American Legion post.
Taking care of our Veterans ~ Bump!
American Legion Bump
Bump!
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.
