No soldier is invulnerable, but some are indomitable. Marine Cpl. Matthew Bradford was just months into his first tour in Iraq when he decided that he would deploy with the Marines as many times as they would have him, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Not long after, on January 18, 2007, the rifleman was clearing a roadside bomb in Iraq’s Al Anbar province when it exploded, with perilous result; Bradford lost his eyesight and both legs and sustained a fractured right hand and shrapnel wounds in his abdomen. Bradford went through multiple reconstructive surgeries and intensive rehabilitation, then made a decision that his close friends were reportedly unsurprised by: he re-enlisted with the Marines.
On April 8, the 23-year-old stepped into military history by becoming the first blind double amputee to re-enlist. The re-enlistment ceremony was held at Fort Sam Houston, home of the Center for the Intrepid rehabilitation center, where Bradford has spent much of his recovery. His next step will be moving to his next deployment site, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he will work as a peer mentor with other severely injured soldiers.
