John was born and raised in Midland, TX where he joined the Army directly after Highschool. John’s first duty station was in Darmstadt, Germany where he served with Eco. 51st INF Long Range Surveillance. He deployed during the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to March of 2004, and October 2005 to 2006. He then left to the 173rd ABN BCT to train up a platoon for a deployment in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1-91 RSTA battalion where he deployed to the Korengal Valley. On a routine village assessment near Camp Keating, his unit was ambushed and outnumbered by an enemy force surrounding them from the mountains above. John sustained multiple gunshot wounds during the 9-hour battle, as well as 18 wounded and 2 killed in action. The bullets that went through John blew out most of his hamstring and quads, took out three inches of femur, severed his sciatic nerve, and lacerated his femoral artery. John was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he began his recovery. He was in ICU for 4 months and impatient the rest of the time for a total of 11 months. As it was time to begin his limb salvage journey, he transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center where he continued 2 more years of limb salvage ultimately leading to a right below knee amputation. During this recovery time, John attended Texas State University and completed a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Sports Science. John medically retired from the United Sates Army in March of 2012
John and Sarah went to high school together at Midland High but were just good friends. After his 1st deployment to Iraq, Sarah was at Texas Tech University and was doing a study abroad semester in Florence, Italy. The two met up in Germany as friends and as the week ended, they realized that they didn’t want to be apart and have remained unseparated ever since. They Married in March of 2005, and Sarah held down the fort during a couple more deployments and many more Army schools. After his recovery at BAMC they had their daughter, Haley Jane in April of 2011. Their son, Jake Thomas, was born December of 2012. Haley is a very independent young lady with a kind soul, beautiful heart, and a stroke of theatrical genius. She enjoys theater and is currently directing her 8th grade performances. She is in her last year of middle school before she goes to Boerne Champion Highschool. Jake is a very high drive, motivated boy who loves sports and his friends. He plays soccer, football, track, swim team, and golf. He enjoys hunting, fishing and the outdoors in general. He is currently in 6th grade and cannot wait until 7th grade where he will be eligible to play sports for the school. He plans on trying out for every sports team the school offers. Sarah stopped working when we had our daughter but continued her education. She completed her master’s in public administration with a Non-Profit certification, is the president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Voss Middle School, and sits on the board at the Boerne Education Foundation. She loves her community and is an avid tennis player. The kids love her being active at the school.
