Marine Lance Corporal Randal Wright was left a triple amputee after stepping on an IED while securing a compound in Salaam Bazaar, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on May 7,  2010. An area known for Taliban activity, LCpl Wright and his squad had no idea they were being sent into an area where just two days prior, another Marine had lost three limbs after stepping on an IED. Entering the compound, LCpl Wright found an IED directly in front of him…alerting his squad and looking up, he noticed a marker used to identify danger zones that had been left after the blast two days earlier. Following standard procedure, LCpl Wright began to retrace his footsteps to leave the compound and the pressure plate was detonated. Thrown into the air, and never losing consciousness, LCpl Wright saw immediately upon landing on the ground that both of his legs were traumatically amputated and that his hand was severely disfigured. He also suffered two broken bones in his left arm and severe injuries to his right arm as well. Most of the Fire Team outside the compound was knocked unconscious by the blast, delaying treatment to the injured Marines within the compound walls. Life saving measures from the corpsman, the Fire Team, and his squad leader, readied him for the MEDEVAC as tourniquets were applied and LCpl Wright began his journey home.

Airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany, LCpl Wright spent a week there before arriving at Bethesda Naval Medical Center where he remained for 3 months before transferring to Walter Reed where he spent 7 months before being transferred to Balboa Naval Hospital where he is receiving treatment at this time.

LCpl Wright plans to complete his college education and obtain his Biology Degree with hopes to one day own his own business. Randal is looking forward to moving home to Idaho and returning to a sense of normalcy, where family and friends are close by. Randal enjoys fishing, snowboarding, Biology…anything involving the outdoors.

When asked if he would like to thank the volunteers who are working to help make his home possible Randal shared the following: “Receiving a specially adapted home from Homes for Our troops will allow me to live as normal a life as possible…it is absolutely awesome for me to think about and look forward to in the near future. It will allow me to be independent again and has lifted a great deal of weight off of my shoulders. Thank you.”