Air Force Master Sgt Joseph Deslauriers

In September of 2011, MSgt. Deslauriers, a 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal technician, was mounted in a mine resistance vehicle conducting a post-blast assessment of an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Explosive Ordnance disposal specialists are tactical and technical explosive efforts who are trained to destroy and disable unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction. In an effort to get a closer look at the damage done by an IED blast, MSgt. Deslauriers dismounted and subsequently set off an IED. The explosion that ensued resulted in MSgt. Deslauriers losing both legs above the knee, and his left arm at the elbow.

U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Kirstie Ennis - Colorado

U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Kirstie Ennis nearly died when the CH-53D helicopter she was flying in as an aerial gunner crash-landed in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

The accident broke her left ankle and caused severe damage to her leg, tore her rotator cuff and labrum, injured the cervical discs of her spine, shattered her jaw, and caused severe facial lacerations, a traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. Ennis was combat meritoriously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Army Specialist Hugo Gonzalez - Florida

US Army Specialist Hugo Gonzalez was severely injured in combat in Baqubah, Iraq. He was on patrol in a Hummer bucket truck when his unit was ambushed. The vehicle took a direct hit from an improvised explosive device (IED) and a furious gun battle broke out with insurgents.

The blast wave caused Specialist Gonzalez to suffer a traumatic brain injury, and fragments ripped into his head. He was evacuated to the base camp where he was placed in a medically-induced coma, and underwent a craniotomy to remove a piece of bone from his cranium to relieve the pressure of the swelling of his brain.

SPC Gonzalez received his mortgage-free home in FL.