SGT Joseph Smith

High Point, NC

Army SGT Joseph Smith, a former Marine, was on his fourth deployment when he was left with a spinal cord injury and Traumatic Brain Injury after an attack at his FOB in Afghanistan in November 2004. SGT Smith was found beneath a 450 pound storage container that had been intentionally pushed from the roof of a storage trailer by two Afghanis, nearly killing him. In and out of consciousness, SGT Smith was immediately airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany where his first spinal cord surgery was performed. After a month in the hospital in Germany, SGT Smith spent nearly four years in multiple hospitals including two and a half years at Tripler Army Medical Center and a year at the Eisenhower Medical Center as well.

SGT Smith enjoys spending time with his wife Debbi and their children. Joey is a member of the US Biathlon Team, competing in Archery, hand cycling, swimming, and shooting. He completed his first Marine Corps Marathon on his hand cycle in 2009. Before his injuries SGT Smith was a boxer for both the Army and the Marines and appeared on HBO in a boxing tournament in 2002.

SGT Smith hopes to one day make the US Paralympic Team and would also like to work to assist injured veterans. When asked how living in a specially adapted home will affect his life he replied, "This gift from Homes for Our Troops will give me greater independence and allow me to do things for myself, where before I had to depend on my family. I cannot begin to thank the donors and the Homes for Our Troops organization enough."

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