Amputee Refuses To Give Up Army Career

Fayetteville (NC) Observer ^ | September 25, 2004 | Justin Willett

[usmcobra]

I don't think so, This one is using a cane so far.

[The Real Deal]

This is one brave young man. I am very proud of him and what he has done. I give him a big courage BUMP!

[Titan Magroyne]

Hoo-ah! Now THAT is a man! (take note, Poodle Kerry)

That kind of commitment to one's troops... it boggles the mind.

[LakeLady]

What an amazing story. Come on Rather, Colmes and the rest of you...why don't you air a true story?

[DTogo]

This guy needs to be on every FoxNews show and campaign WITH the President to counter all the BS and negativity from the Kerry-Kennedy campaign of self-flagellation and depression.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Oh, I didn't see that.

His story is inspirational also and he's another American that we can proud of.

[Mo1]

What a wonderful story .. thanks for the ping Tonk

[Former Military Chick]

**update hero ping**

I noticed a lot of wonderful comments on this fine soldier that I did a search and found a photo, interview and several other articles regarding his injury in Iraq through today. Hope you enjoy them as well.

Then-Maj. Andrew Lourake talks with Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Metzdorf (center) and Army Sgt. Maurice Craft about their progress learning to use their prosthetic legs during physical therapy. Sergeant Metzdorf, an airborne infantryman, lost his leg when his fire team was ambushed while on patrol in Iraq.

International Amputee refuses to give up Army career Antibiotic Beads Helping Wounded Soldiers

News you will not hear from Iraq

Heroes Credit Medics with Saving Their Lives

Interview with Staff Sergeants Daniel Metzdorf

[Stonedog]

Thanks for the ping and the reading material. This man is a true American hero.

[Former Military Chick]

I agree it did not get coverage when it happened and only in the military communities he resided.

Check post #28, I I found a photo and several other articles.

This is one of the wonderful things about FR, we can make it news, and, perhaps this fine soldier will stumble across all the thoughtful posts. Thank you Jim Robinson for giving us this avenue.

[Citizen Tom Paine]

Disability is a state of mind. That is a quote from one of my CO's in the Coast Guard who walked with a limp because of polio. He could have had a disability discharge, but he stayed in and became a four-striper. I also knew of a pilot who had an artificial leg. More power to Staff Sgt. Metzdorf. My hat is off to him.

[The Mayor]

Bump!

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

Thanks for the picture and info.

This kind of story makes me so proud to be an American.

[Former Military Chick]

You are most welcome. As most here say, there is little good news in the MSM, if this is the only other place to get it .. then I say post -- we deserve to hear about this fine men and women.

[marmar]

This is a true Patriotic American, and I am humbled by his service to country............This is the type of human that can make a difference in this world we live in. God Bless him and all the Warriors......

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

May 14, 2004

 

Warriors' women stand by their men

by Michael J. Minardi
Medical Hold Company

....Teresa Metzdorf said she would like the news services to report how many of the war's wounded are amputees. Walter Reed has treated approximately 100 amputees since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and several others from Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I want people to know there are wounded Soldiers and there

Teresa Metzdorf talks with her husband Daniel as he exercises his abdominal muscles in the Physical Therapy Clinic.

is an aftereffect. This is for the rest of his life," she said referring to her husband's amputation of his right leg in Iraq. "You don't think of 'wounded' as amputees. Nobody talks about it."

Staff Sgt. Daniel T. Metzdorf, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, N.C., was wounded Jan. 27 southwest of Baghdad when he and his men stopped to investigate a pile of trash on the supply route, Highway 1. The enigma of the tragedy is that three team members were killed, Dan's leg was ripped off, and another Soldier was peppered with shrapnel. They think the IED under the trash was an artillery shell that was remotely detonated when Metzdorf and his team approached.

Everything happened rapidly for Metzdorf. Since his leg was already severed, he immediately called Teresa from the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.

"'Hi Honey, I lost my leg,' Dan said, and then the phone connection went dead," Teresa recalled. "I started to hyperventilate, and thought 'What do I do now?'

"I called my mother, but I was so upset I couldn't speak," Teresa said. Her brother had answered the phone but didn't recognize her voice. She finally was able to tell the bad news and ask her mother, who also lived in Fayetteville, N.C., to come over. "I had an hour to cry before my mom arrived," Teresa confessed.

Teresa was worried when Dan went to Afghanistan, but she was very uneasy about him going to Iraq. "It was different. I had a real bad feeling."

As well as Dan losing 50 pounds (20 pounds was his leg), the couple had to buy a new vehicle and adapt their house. They traded in Dan's stick-shift sports car for a specially-modified pickup truck. "It was the only vehicle Dan could fit in," Teresa said with a smile. "We also had to install bars for the shower and low-pile carpet throughout the house."

The 2/505th PIR is scheduled to return to Bragg soon and they have asked Metzdorf to walk with his unit from the plane to the hangar when they arrive. Dan has been training for the last three months for that challenge. He said it means a lot to him to be able to do that. He also wants to remain in the Army.

"Dan thinks he has a lot to offer the Army," Teresa said. "Just because this happened to him doesn't make him stop being a Soldier.

"I support him," she added. "It's going to be good for him."

~*~

Dear American free reporters, meet your good neighbors.

[JrAsparagus]

Great story. A true HERO!!

I love that he did not just say I want to stay with my brothers, but he fought to and triumphed. Inspirational.

[BykrBayb]

Even in civies, soldiers just have a certain look about them. I used to think I had a thing for guys in uniform, but no, it goes deeper. Soldiers have something that transcends the uniform, and all other superficial things. There's a lot to be said for military bearing. I know they don't master it just so I'll have something good to look at, but sometimes... I think they do.

[Tailback]

If the Army let General Franks stay with one leg, then they can let a SSG stay.

[Troublemaker]

Thank you for posting this great story.