SSgt. Jack Pierce

Morgans Point Resort, TX

Marine Staff Sergeant Jack Pierce was on his third deployment when he was left paralyzed after his vehicle drove over a 300 pound bomb in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on January 9th, 2010. The last of a six vehicle convoy on the main service road on a resupply mission, the blast tossed the vehicle 35 feet, where it came to rest on its roof. Two of the vehicle’s occupants were killed in the blast and six were severely injured. SSgt. Pierce received multiple injuries including a broken knee, broken ribs, scapulas, wrist, and vertebrae’s as well as a crushed spine resulting in T5 paraplegia; paralysis from the chest down. Evacuated to the local hospital, SSgt Pierce had emergency surgery to remove his spleen and part of his pancreas. Airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany, SSgt. Pierce was stabilized for transport to Bethesda Medical Center in Maryland where surgery fused his spine and he began his intensive rehabilitation. Airlifted to Palo Alto, California, he would spend the next 5 months at the Palo Alto VA Rehabilitation Center. The Pierces have returned to the San Antonio area so that Jack can continue with his treatments and therapies in his home state.