Cpl Paul Schaus

North Tonawanda, NY

While on his second deployment, Marine Corporal Paul Schaus was left a double amputee after stepping on a landmine during a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on June 5, 2009. Following a mission protecting another squad while it destroyed an enemy bunker, Cpl Schaus and his squad came under enemy fire. For nearly an hour, the mortars and small arms fire continued as Cpl Schaus and his squad held their ground and engaged the enemy in close range. While taking his team to check the flank for enemy movement, Cpl Schaus stepped on a landmine and was critically injured, losing both of his legs above the knees and a finger on his left hand. Life saving measures by his squad readied him for MEDEVAC to Camp Leatherneck, where despite having twice gone into Cardiac Arrest, Cpl Schaus was able to be airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany. He was eventually transferred state-side and spent a month at Bethesda Naval Medical Center before finally moved to Walter Reed where he remains at this time.