E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Carlos Osorio / AP
Chloe Mills, 1-year-old daughter of Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills and his wife Kelsey, crawls past her father's walking legs in his boyhood home in Vassar, Mich., on Oct. 4, 2012.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Travis Mills plays with his daughter Chloe.
The Associated Press reports from Vassar, Mich. — Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills had been a lot of places since losing his four limbs in Afghanistan. The one place he hadn't been was where people knew him best.
He finally returned to his Michigan hometown this week — six months after the explosion that cost him his arms and legs — to serve as the grand marshal of his old high school's homecoming parade.
"This is my new normal, and it's all about how I adjust to it," he said moments after using his prosthetic legs to walk from the living room to the sun room at his childhood home. "There's no good that's gonna come from me sitting there and wondering, 'Why'd this happen? Why me? Now what do I do?' The answer's right in front of you: It happened because it happened." Read the full story.
Visit Travis Mills' web page to learn more about his road to recovery.
Related links:
- At long last: Remains of soldiers killed in World War II put to rest
- Wounded warriors show grit, determination on journey to recovery
- Funeral for a New Jersey soldier killed in Afghanistan
Carlos Osorio / AP
Mills, right, is helped with his home legs by his father, Dennis Mills.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Kelsey Mills helps her husband navigate the newly installed ramp at his boyhood home.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Travis Mills rides in the back of a Jeep during the homecoming parade on Thursday, Oct. 4. Mills, his wife, Kelsey, and their 1-year-old daughter, Chloe, were the grand marshals of Vassar High School's homecoming parade.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Julie Best, a friend of Travis Mills, cheers as he rides in the homecoming parade.
Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter
Leave a Comment:
Keep on fighting Travis the blessings & support of a great family/community go a long ways in overcoming the injuries
From one Vet to another God Bless You & your Family
A word of caution and hope: I am one of these wounded warriors; I left both legs on some dirty foreign battlefield doing what my country asked of me. My wounds were severe enough so I cannot wear prosthetic legs, so my path in life is from a wheelchair, mostly. I was a recipient of a flurry of praise, patriotism, and well-wishes for a while. Then, the din died down, the streets cleared, the calls and visits and notes stopped, and I was required to face a new life.
This is where the "rubber meets the road" for Travis, and all other severely wounded warriors. KNOW THIS: We don't get to hide among the crowds on days we would like to - our wounds single us out for life; we have all the same mental and emotional issues, perhaps even more due to our daily reminders, as those who are ballyhooed because their "wounds are invisible". We get double indemnity.
I say this because I don't want people to abandon Travis and others like him, but try to remember them after the fanfare dies. Because that is when these wounded warriors will need help the most - the days after. Those days and nights bring a lot of pain that has yet to set in, and regardless of our strength and resolve, we feel that pain often, and deeply.
Semper Fi, Warrior. Lost a good friend and fellow Marine in Iraq- I was within 2 ft of him when he was hit. I kept my old Alice Pack that is forever stained with his blood. Unbelieveably painful to even hold it in my hands to this day. Some make it, some don't. I wish you well, my brother.
Semper Fi
SSgt, 2CEB, USMC Iraq/Somalia
Travis,Your tenfold a better Man than I am...Fine Family you have...
Proud Supporter Paralyzed Veterans of America*...
Can't say what i would like, wouldn't be nice
Look who I am.
Sorry you guys didn't get welcomed like they do now.Thank you for your service
21 years of active duty here and it is Men and Women like him that help me to move on...
These are the TRUE HEROs of this country.
GOD BLESS THE US of A.
God bless Travis, Welcome home , THANK YOU FOR YOUR SELFLESS SERVICE TO US ALL
We salute you.We salute a young man who has all but given his life for our country.Our beautiful,beleaguered country,which is trying to discard the very beliefs that led you to such valor
For those of you who think that people missing limbs are unhappy and can't be a productive member of society, look at these videos and then tell me what you think.
She even drives:
For those of you who think that people missing limbs are unhappy and can't be a productive member of society, look at these videos and then tell me what you think.
www.youtube.com/user/tishaunarmed?feature=g-user-u =You tube Tisha Unarmed
She even drives: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl28nkae5DU&feature=plcp
So tell me, why would you think that somene missing limbs is disabled? or miserable? or can't live a normal and happy life?
So tell me, why would you think that somene missing limbs is disabled? or miserable? or can't live a normal and happy life?
Heroic.
i just wanna say welcome home Battle as a former veteran an Infantryman myself glad to see you made it home safe brother and thanks for serving our great country..."Follow Me".....
As a former Veteran and Infantryman I just wanna say welcome home Travis.....