Bradford first blind Marine double amputee to re-enlist
By Scott Huddleston. San Antonio Express-News
April 20, 2010
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas After all hes been through, the only real regret Marine Cpl. Matthew Bradford says he has now is not being able to return to combat duty in Iraq.
But recently, Bradford, 23, formerly of Winchester, made Marine Corps history, becoming the first blind double amputee to re-enlist. In keeping with service tradition, Bradford was honorably discharged and allowed to say a few words as a civilian before re-enlisting.
Sign me up, sir! he told Lt. Col. David Barnes, who administered the oath of enlistment, extending Bradfords military career by another four years.
The outdoor re-enlistment ceremony was held a few hundred feet from the Center for the Intrepid, dedicated just 11 days after Bradford was seriously wounded in Iraq.
It was at the cutting-edge rehabilitation center, funded with $50 million in private contributions, that he began his arduous and painful journey in June 2007 to learn to walk again with prosthetic limbs.
Hell soon leave Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to work with other wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. At the Intrepid Center, he had memorized the number of steps it took to get wherever he was going in the third-floor physical therapy department. The center became his comfort zone, said his mother, Debbie Bradford.
http://www.winchestersun.com/stories/2010/04/20/loc.785232.sto//
By Scott Huddleston. San Antonio Express-News
April 20, 2010
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas After all hes been through, the only real regret Marine Cpl. Matthew Bradford says he has now is not being able to return to combat duty in Iraq.
But recently, Bradford, 23, formerly of Winchester, made Marine Corps history, becoming the first blind double amputee to re-enlist. In keeping with service tradition, Bradford was honorably discharged and allowed to say a few words as a civilian before re-enlisting.
Sign me up, sir! he told Lt. Col. David Barnes, who administered the oath of enlistment, extending Bradfords military career by another four years.
The outdoor re-enlistment ceremony was held a few hundred feet from the Center for the Intrepid, dedicated just 11 days after Bradford was seriously wounded in Iraq.
It was at the cutting-edge rehabilitation center, funded with $50 million in private contributions, that he began his arduous and painful journey in June 2007 to learn to walk again with prosthetic limbs.
Hell soon leave Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to work with other wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. At the Intrepid Center, he had memorized the number of steps it took to get wherever he was going in the third-floor physical therapy department. The center became his comfort zone, said his mother, Debbie Bradford.
http://www.winchestersun.com/stories/2010/04/20/loc.785232.sto//
