NORTH COVENTRY, Pa. » An IED blast in Afghanistan left Marine Cpl. Grant Cantrell III with a traumatic brain injury and a choice: Would he have his severely injured legs amputated, or endure intense physical therapy to save them?
Blisters from burns covered his feet and lower legs. They looked "disgusting," Cantrell remembers thinking at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
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About American Homecomings
AmericanHomecomings.com is devoted to one of the most important issues of our time — the re-entry of members of the military to our cities and towns, our colleges and universities, our businesses, our homes.
The uncommon collaboration involves Digital First Media newsrooms across the country, including The Salt Lake Tribune.
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He waited out the pain while some of his wounds from the Sept. 28, 2011, explosion healed.
Cantrell’s mother, Sandra Cantrell-Edwards, was at his side when President Barack Obama pinned a Purple Heart to his shirt at Walter Reed.
But he asked her to leave near the end of his seven-month stay, so he could surprise her with his progress.
Read about Grant Cantrell’s continuing journey of recovery on American Homecomings.
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A young Marine lies on his belly, sobbing after he and his comrades shot up an Iraqi family whose white Chevy Citation sped into the middle of a firefight. Another Marine, bone-weary on a march into Baghdad, falls asleep while replacing his sock.
A third is whisked away from war with a torn-up face and survivor’s guilt because his buddy, a husband and father of two, died in the same foxhole.
These are some of the poignant stories from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans collected by historians at the University of Utah’s American West Center.
Read more about the Saving the Legacy project, which aims to interview veterans of the latest wars while their experiences are raw.
Utahn is a fierce advocate for her fellow veterans
American Homecomings is following eight veterans for a year, hoping to shed light on how Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans as a whole are faring. See these stories and others at americanhomecomings.com.
Meet Jen Carver » An Army veteran of two Iraq tours, single mom, student at Weber State University majoring in social work and criminal justice, Jen Carver is a tireless, passionate advocate for helping other veterans get the most out of their college education.
Meet Tim Kenney » He doesn’t miss a beat when asked if there was anything good he saw in Afghanistan. The stars made him feel close to his God — and close to his family.
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