Marine, AK Amputee Returns to Combat

A Marine from Oklahoma has become the first person with an
transfemoral amputation to return to combat in Iraq, according to
the Associated Press (AP). Master Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson, 37,
had his left leg amputated above the knee after he was shot by a
sniper while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm’s way in Ramadi,
Iraq, in May 2006. After competing in triathlons on his new
carbon-fiber prosthesis, he was allowed to return to Iraq, where he
serves as a fire chief in Fallujah. Two other American service
members with transtibial amputations have returned to Iraq.