Wounded Warrior Luke Wilson
September 2013 - The three years on active duty -- as an Army Ranger -- largely made Luke Wilson who he is today. We went over to Iraq expecting the worst," Luke says. "Unfortunately, that's pretty much what we got. It was hot. It was dusty. I learned I don't like getting shot at. "We were in southern Baghdad on April 8, 2004," Luke recalls. "I was in the third vehicle of a convoy. There was a Bradley in front of the convoy, and it got hit with an IED (improvised explosive device). Then the insurgents opened up on us with small arms fire and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). We returned fire."
Luke was transported to the combat support hospital in Baghdad's Green Zone, where his leg was amputated, before receiving further treatment at Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and ultimately landing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The support Luke received early on from Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) let him know others cared for his well-being. "Wounded Warrior Project made contact with me when I was still at Walter Reed," he says. "When I arrived there, I had nothing but a hospital gown, so getting the WWP backpack really meant a lot to me." Video is no longer available. |