Warrior Stories

As a Black woman soldier, I had to make myself the picture of perfection. There was no room for error in the military. I had to hit the ground running flawlessly...

By age 21, Bryan Wagner lost his leg to combat injuries and spent two years enduring surgeries and...

Dan Smee’s life has changed rapidly since returning from Iraq in 2006 after his second stint in the U.S. Army. He served in the 1980s and chose to enlist...

Marine Lance Cpl. Tim Horton was injured in combat in 2005 and evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center...

From the streets of Chicago to the Notre Dame basketball court to a battleground in Iraq, Danielle Green’s story is one of determination and inspiration.

At first, Sharona Young didn’t see herself as a wounded warrior. She had a back injury from falling down a ladder on a ship but didn’t have any other combat injuries. But while on active duty...

Veteran Rochelle Cooper had her life planned when she was in high school. After graduation, she would attend college to focus on furthering her education. She would also join the Army Reserves,...

When Navy veteran Marquise Morris was stationed in Japan in 2011...

There was a moment, soon after realizing the extent of his burn wounds and combat injuries, when Anthony Villarreal didn’t expect anyone to stick by him, including his wife. He would look at...

David Long is a Marine veteran who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s managing traumatic brain injury (TBI)...

Army veteran Brian “Amarok” Critton loves riding his motorcycle. It gives him peace of mind, and an escape from the noise in his head. One afternoon, while doing what he loves, Amarok came...

The holidays are upon us, and the reality for many military members is the separation from their family members and loved ones. Veterans often spend their holidays...

Two wounded warriors, Brent Whitten and Brett Miller, returned to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where they were treated and...

As the new year approaches, we're bringing warriors together and encouraging them to get #WWPFit. Starting now, warriors can sign up for the #WWPFit challenge that begins Monday, Jan. 2. This is a...

For Caryn Finch-Collier, retirement is an opportunity to continue serving – even after dedicating more than 35 years of military service to her country. As an Army major, Caryn is used to...

Army veteran Daniel Walter likes to paint. “Art is my outlet,” Daniel explained. “I don't have very good conversation skills, and I don't talk to a lot of people, so painting is how I get...

Army veteran Tracy Ardrey’s fingers moved quickly over the computer keys. Click, click, click. Letters quickly formed words. Words quickly formed sentences as her thoughts materialized on the...

Three years in a row, a group of supporters have joined Christina Witchey in Chehalis, Washington to honor Army veteran Ryan Taniguchi by doing a 5K together. Ryan’s time with Christina and...

Life was going well for Jacob Cox. He was 21 years old and a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, serving his country out of Florida. As the years went by, Jacob noticed something wrong with his...

Army veteran Raquel Rojas had a rude awakening. One night while she was visiting her daughter in Brooklyn, New York, she was jolted by her daughter’s pleas to breathe. Raquel was unaware she had...

What seemed like another trip back home was anything but for Army veteran Marvin Frink. After 15 years of service and deployments to Kuwait, Korea, and Saudi Arabia, Marvin transitioned back to...

The story of Army National Guard veteran Germán Rivera-Caballero takes us to the island known as La Isla Del Encanto. Puerto Rico is home for Germán, and when it came time to go to college, like...

Army veteran Paul Delacerda has played drums since age 9. He started touring with his first band at 17. So, after an IED attack in Iraq sidelined his Army career, he thought he would pick up music...

June is PTSD Awareness Month Sean Karpf is a husband, father, brother, son, business owner, and loving friend. He is also a veteran who manages post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Giving voice...

For National Women’s Health Week (May 8-14), Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is sharing the inspiring story of an Air Force veteran and woman warrior who found peace and healing through one of...

Army veteran Sean Sanders was used to leading teams and showing strength and courage daily. “The military teaches you to be self-reliant,” Sean said. “I was proud of who I had become through...

Marine veterans Nick Bennett and Dan Miller held a box of shrapnel in their hands. It’s not the sort of thing that helps most people bond. But the jagged metal pieces were surgically removed...

Todd Plybon saw some of his high school students volunteering for military service after 9/11 and felt compelled to do more. The chemistry and physics teacher was 32 at the time, had an...

SHEBOYGAN, WIS. – Army veteran Ralph Perpignan eyed the target diligently. As he sized up his surroundings, he prepared his partner to take the all-important shot. After every detail had been...

Do you have the same needs today as you did when you were 18? Most people’s needs change as they mature, including veterans. Wounded Warrior Project’s (WWP) Annual Warrior Survey tracks the...

Returning from Iraq after a convoy accident, Army veteran Lisa Crutch remembered many things that happened during deployment but could not recall many memories from life at home. Her children...

With a 5-year-old son, Beth King knew what she was risking if she enlisted in the military, but that’s exactly why she went into the service – for the sake of her son and country. “I watched...

Ciara didn’t know she’d be meeting her soulmate when she went with a friend to a songwriting retreat in rural Georgia in 2018. Eric wasn’t expecting to find love when he traveled from New...

Laura and Jonathan Grant met when Jonathan’s duty station transferred to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Laura was a Pilates instructor in her own studio nearby. The two quickly realized they had...

A group of wounded warriors recently hiked 17 miles in the Texas Hill Country to honor the 17 veterans who die by suicide each day. The warriors participated in the second annual hike as part of a...

Motorcycles, mental health, and the magic of the Florida Keys. That was the setting and focus for a group of veterans at a recent Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) workshop called Rolling Project...

Sergio Alfaro sat in the middle of a test at Harvard Medical School, but all he could think about were traumatic events that happened in Iraq. After serving as a medic in Iraq, Sergio followed up...

James Rivera spent six months in Iraq with the Marines, driving convoys for 120 to 150 miles each day. When he returned home, James isolated himself and felt depressed. He used to spend days and...

Leaving the structure of military life and venturing into the unknown as a civilian is a monumental change. Any change can cause stress, and for many people the stress can lead to anxiety....

Jake Norotsky can get real with students in his aviation program because he’s been there. While still a senior in high school, he balanced schoolwork, a full-time job, and National Guard weekend...

For veterans facing a new life with prosthetic limbs or orthopedic devices, simple aspects of life like clothing take on a whole new meaning. Newly bought clothing might require custom tailoring...

August is Romance Awareness Month, and while romance is portrayed a certain way in mainstream media, what it really comes down to is connection. Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) offers a couples’...

When Army veteran Elizabeth Martinez Gonzalez first separated from the military, she was ready to walk away from anything that reminded her of military life. After all, she felt the military had...

When Rob McGregor retired from the Navy in 2014, he anticipated a smooth landing in civilian life. The former helicopter pilot left the military as a lieutenant commander after 27 years of...

A rare cancer changed Kelly Elmlinger’s role from nurse to patient at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). Kelly had joined the Army during her sophomore year in college, turning down athletic...

Life can change in an instant, taking away the independence we’ve become accustomed to. Fernando Martinez spent more than 15 years defending our nation’s freedoms in the Marine Corps Reserve...

Finding peace and quiet can feel difficult at times. Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) art class participants have found a way to find solace in creating something new. While these classes are...

After a tough week, Army veteran Jenein Hamilton could have stayed home and skipped a recent women’s empowerment weekend organized by Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). But her efforts to attend...

Most parents will tell you they have an unparalleled bond with their children. Cindy Parsons’ bond with her son Shane has been tried and tested. In 2006, Cindy received a phone call that no...

One of the benefits of activities shifting to virtual settings in 2020 is that people can gather together from anywhere. Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) has given warriors the chance to connect...