Pioneer Day in Utah 24 July 2010 at 2012

Happy Pioneer Day,

This is David's brother JJ. I just arrived here yesterday and I am blown away by what I have seen here in such a short time. Not only is David the same old guy in his personality, but he is the same old body. The shortage of legs seems to be a temporary inconvenience and it is dwarfed by his willingness to adapt and overcome this adversity. The amount of support that stands behind him is truly astonishing as well. I cannot begin to thank David and the other injured veterans here for their sacrifice, yet neither can I begin to thank those that stand behind them with such passion. In my own military experience it was evident that positioned filled at the hospital or throughout the base were a job to the people there, a way to get paid. To the military and staff here this is an opportunity, and a privilege to be the ones who watch over these men and women. For my brother alone I can never thank Catherine enough for what she has done and continues to do for him. I love my brother and stepping into his room you can see the monuments of how far David's influence reaches and the Hero he truly is - whether or not he will acknowledge it. As he says this is a minor inconvenience, a slow step back into life with just some different tools. Thank you David, and thank you to those of you who help him even if it's only with a small prayer.

This is Gordon again. That was extremely well put.

David had a very relaxing day except for the constant flow of guests in his room.

There was a wonderful woman who came in and presented David with a absolutely beautiful quilt and quilt cover in thanks to David for the effort he made in saving her son's life two years ago. Unfortunately the soldier had a piece of shrapnel that hit him in an area that proved to be irreparable and he passed away. David has influenced so many.

We received an email today and I'm hoping that I can paste it:

Mrs. Lyon, I am a Police Officer who works with the US Military here and a former Marine myself. I met David in November of 2008 in Golestan Afghanistan. I lived with his team on our small outpost. They took me in and treated me like family. I was sad to see him leave but was happy that he was going home and hoped that he would not have to return.

David was one of the most admirable people I have had the honor and pleasure to work with. He deeply cared about the Marines that he was protecting and did not hesitate to place his own safety at risk to ensure the safety of others.

David saved my life last year a few months before he left. One of our vehicles had just struck an IED on a hill that I was on. The vehicle was only about 50 feet away from me when it hit it. I was ok and went to the vehicle to check on the occupants. Everyone inside were ok with the exception of the driver. The blast went off directly under his feet. His injuries were minor but he could not walk at the time. I was assisting the Corpsman in carrying him down the hill when Dave came running up the hill. We were carrying the driver alongside the vehicle and about to get to the back of it when Dave started yelling “STOP WALKING”. He cleared a path up to us with his metal detector and found that I was one step from stepping on a secondary IED.

I know that we, Marines and Police Officers, do not share all the details of our work with our families to protect them. I know that you know that you know that David is a very brave young man but I just wanted to give another reason for you to know it. I truly feel that I, as well as my family, owe David a debt of gratitude to say the least. He is a fine young man and I was very happy to be able to read his story and see his progresses. It was good to be able to talk to him last night and see that he is in high spirits. I have been attempting to find out more information on him since I heard of the incident a few days after it happened.

I am still here in Afghanistan and will be for another year. I have met and worked with many other EOD Techs in my time here. All of them are top notch operators, however David is one of a kind.

I will keep in touch as much as I can from over here and have forwarded the Blog to all of my friends so they can see the sacrifices that our children are making here for all of us and our country.

Thank you for raising such a great young man who has made a difference in my life as well as everyone he has come into contact with.

Gordon Again, It's another tribute and although David doesn't like accelaides, he has done some incredible things in his short lifetime - so far!!!

See You Tomorrow,

Gordon





LEP Mike Nelson MPRI (PIM)