30 December 2011

"I'd do it all over again"


U.S. Army Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry is tended to by medics after being wounded in a blast from an improvised explosive device on June 15 in Afghanistan in this picture taken by a Stars and Stripes photographer. Photo courtesy of the Hockenberry family to the Marietta Times.


Remember this photo of PFC Kyle Hockenberry being MEDEVAC'd after sustaining critical wounds in an IED blast in Afghanistan?

Today there's a great follow up in the Marietta Times.

Speaking to The Marietta Times from San Antonio, Texas, the 2010 Frontier High School graduate said he doesn't regret joining the Army, even after the June 15 blast from an improvised explosive device that cost him most of both legs and his left arm.

"I just always wanted to fight for my country," said Hockenberry, 20. "I'd do it all over again if I could."

Hockenberry continues to progress in his recovery since the June explosion. He was discharged from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in Nov-ember and is staying in a two-bedroom apartment while he undergoes rehabilitation at the nearby Center for the Intrepid. He's been fitted with a prosthetic arm and is expected to take his first steps on prosthetic legs this week.

"Physically it's been difficult at times," he said. "I've been having to relearn how to do things."

But Hockenberry said he's come to terms with his situation.

"It's not in my hands," he said. "I'm OK with it. I'm alive and I'm with my family."

Read the whole thing. Kyle looks great!


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