Posted on 06/08/2005 11:01:06 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Spec. George Perez, 21, a paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, is on his way to Afghanistan, a year and a half after a bomb destroyed his left leg and killed his best friend.
Perez, who grew up in Carteret, N.J., called home yesterday during a stopover in Germany on his way to catch up with his unit, already deployed to Afghanistan, his proud father told the Daily News.
George Perez Sr. said he's "100%" behind his soldier son's decision to return to combat. "I worry about him a little," he said, "but I have a lot of confidence in God."
Spec. Perez was wounded on Sept. 14, 2003, near the Iraqi city of Fallujah when a homemade bomb exploded under his Humvee. His best friend, Sgt. Trevor Blumberg, died instantly in the explosion.
Perez's lower left leg was badly mangled and, after a succession of surgeries, doctors decided to amputate below the knee.
He was soon outfitted with a prosthetic leg and began to learn how to use it.
"I'm definitely staying in the military, I guarantee," Perez told the Raleigh News & Observer in North Carolina just two months after the bombing. "It takes something bigger than this to scare me, and I'll fight for it if I have to."
His father marveled at his recovery. "It's like nothing happened to him," the older Perez said. "He swims, he runs, he plays basketball, he races cars."
By December 2004, the soldier was ready to try a parachute jump. He made it - but his new leg didn't. It broke apart as he landed.
With a new, reinforced prosthetic, he tried again in March and got the medical clearance to join the rest of his unit, now in Afghanistan.
Perez Sr. said he's not surprised by his son's determination.
When Spec. Perez was a little boy, his dad recalled, he would sneak off with his father's dog tags - from when the elder Perez was in the Army - and say, "I'm going to be a soldier, too."
This is the Heart of a Patriot.........
God bless this paratrooper. My sister is an amputee. The movie "Men Of Honor" changed her life.
While living in Boulder I used to frequent gun shows. I used to always see an older man, dressed as a veteran (I always assumed it was WW2). He had a bumper sticker in his display that said, "On the 8th day God created paratroopers and the devil stood at attention." I always wanted to talk to this man. I wish I would have.
As long as we have such men, we will never be defeated.
Note to terrorists: "Our men are so tough that you can blow their limbs off - and they'll still come back and hunt you down."
I'd like to have someone film John Kerry's reaction when asked if he would do the same if he were a soldier in Afghanistan today.
Add to that, you had better kill them the first time, because one shot ain't enough :)
I look around, McD's,etc., and wonder where we find the teriffic young men like Spec. Perez. I'm sure their families have a lot to do with it, and then placing them in the right circumstances--disciplined military training programs.
Thank you, Spec. Perez. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Perez.
And even then, you better make doubly sure, because some night you might wake up to find that "dead" American at the other end of the rifle pointed between your eyes.
Wow!! Now that's a story. I'm sure this will be featured on the nightly news shows and in the New York Times...NOT!
yeah pretty much :)
Kerry wouldn't have a leg to stand on (sorry, I just couldn't help it.).
That's right. This guy is a true American hero. He deserves more than a purple heart. God bless him and his parents for the great job they did in raising him.
Awesome story. Awesome young man.
AIRBORNE!!
(when only the truly nuts will do!!)
How do you say "I salute you, Sir" in Hispanic?
sp
You say it English - he's an American.
BINGO!
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