But he was walking that day, so when a buried 82mm mortar exploded three feet in front of him, it blew open his left arm, shattered his thumbs, peppered his legs and right arm with shrapnel, and ruptured one of his testicles.

"I'm dazed and I have no idea how badly I'm injured," said Cpt Ziegenfuss, now 33, describing the explosion nearly a year later.

"I remember looking at my hands and thinking, 'That's going to hurt later'."

Within four days, Cpt Ziegenfuss had passed through US military hospitals in Balad, Iraq, and Landstuhl, Germany, to arrive at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

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BBC NEWS | Technology | Laptop lifeline for wounded troops

Click on the picture below to learn about what Weber grills is doing for wounded Marines, and the families of those KIA - and how you can help.

by Spc. Teddy Wade
May 22, 2006
Sgt. Leno Lemus, from Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, shoots open the door of a house near Balad, Iraq, so his squad can enter and search for terrorists on the most-wanted list.

By Paul X. Rutz / American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, May 22, 2006 - Many Americans believe the nation's troops deserve support during wartime, but servicemembers returning with severe injuries will need special support the rest of their lives.

Members of "Rolling Thunder" Chapter 3 in upstate New York are raising funds to give that support to Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan, who sustained severe brain injuries while serving in Iraq. Ryan's family has been by his side since the day after he was wounded.

"The thing is that there's going to be an ongoing need for money as they go through the years," said Dave Hansen, who is sponsoring a "poker run" through the Hudson River Valley, Aug. 27. "They just recently had a van with a wheelchair lift donated to them, and of course as soon as I saw that, I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, maintenance.'"

Already several community members have rallied around Ryan and his family to donate materials and expertise, adding a massive addition to the Ryan home outside Ellenville, N.Y., which will likely be finished by the end of this month. It will have a special bed for pressure release since he doesn't move, a Jacuzzi to help him continue his rehabilitation, and special equipment to move him from bed to wheelchair to toilet. Hansen said the concern now is to make sure the community remembers Ryan's future needs.

The poker run's main event will be a raffle. Participants, who will arrive on motorcycles or in cars, will each pull a card from a normal card deck at the start point, and at the next four stops, they'll continue picking one card at a time. The three people with the highest five-card poker hands at the last stop will win part of the pot, and the rest will go to Ryan's family.

The event will likely cost $15 to $20 per rider, plus $10 entry for passengers, Hansen said. The group expects to have other raffles and prizes at the event, depending on what gets donated.

"We're going to get the word out to as many people throughout the entire Hudson Valley as possible to come into this ride so that we can get the entire Hudson Valley to show their support for literally one of our heroes, one of the people who keeps us free," Hansen said. "We hope that they will continue this sort of support in the future for not just Eddie, but for any other soldier who comes back with the same sort of injuries."

Rolling Thunder began as a protest movement in 1987 with 2,600 demonstrators riding through Washington, D.C., in an effort to keep the memories alive of over 92,000 American servicemembers still listed as missing in action. The group will return to the nation's capital on this Memorial Day weekend.

"Rolling Thunder's main mission is to & make sure that future (prisoners of war) are not forgotten, and the fewest number of MIAs possible are created in the future," Hansen said. "That's the primary mission, but that doesn't give you much in the way of hands on & so what we do to keep ourselves involved is to work with as many veterans as possible, and certainly those like Eddie are on our priority list."

Eddie Ryan's mother, Angie, said Hansen and other Rolling Thunder members visit her son in the hospital twice a week. "They're doing it on their time, and their sweat and blood doing this for Eddie, and I couldn't be more thrilled," she said.

Angie said she has remained by her son's side since the day after he was wounded over a year ago. They spent a week at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, then went to hospitals in Bethesda, Md., and Richmond, Va., before arriving at Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Hospital, N.Y., on Sept. 15.

Getting Eddie admitted to Helen Hayes was a struggle, since the hospital is not part of the Department of Veterans Affairs system, Angie said. VA hospitals close to the Ryan home did not have a traumatic brain injury unit, and that meant Eddie would not get the care he needed. Thanks to help from U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly, Eddie got in eventually.

"It's the best thing for us," Angie said. "So we're hoping it'll open up the avenues for others in need."

She said she will remain with her son at the hospital until they can make the trek home together. For now, the daily routine consists of nearly constant occupational therapy, speech therapy sessions, and range of motion work from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"It's a full day for him," Angie said. "They're very aggressive as far as therapies here. The place is wonderful. I'm very happy with Helen Hayes. I can't say enough about it."

Angie said although her son's wounds have devastated her family, she feels blessed to have so many people reaching out and touching their lives. She hopes her experience will make it a little easier for future families who have to go through situations of this magnitude.

"My son has taken two bullets to the head, and he is a real miracle, and, you know, there's always hope," she said. "No matter how things seem sometimes, they just have a way of turning around, so we're just blessed to have that second chance with Eddie."


Rolling Thunder New York Chapter 3 members march in the St. Patrick's Day parade, March 5: from left, Sue Orts, chapter board chairman Bill Palmer, secretary Mary Lewis, treasurer Tony Hilinski, president Ron Orts and Dave Hansen. The chapter will host a fundraiser Aug. 27 to benefit Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan who suffered severe brain injuries in Iraq. Courtesy photo


Residents of the Hudson Valley region in upstate New York donated materials and time to build a massive addition to the home of Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan, who was severely wounded in Iraq, to be completed at the end of May. The home originally was only the size of the pink siding shown here. Courtesy photo


Members of Rolling Thunder Navy veterans gather around Sgt. Eddie Ryan and his mother, Angie, March 25. Courtesy photo

STORMY WEATHER — Lightning strikes in front of the tower and a taxiing C-130 at Balad Air Base, Iraq, May 16, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman James Croxon

IRAQI ARMY SOLDIERS GRADUATE FIVE-WEEK MEDICAL COURSE, READY TO TREAT COMBAT CASUALTIES IN WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE

COALITION FORCES KILL TWO AL-QAIDA TERRORISTS

COALITION FORCES DESTROY INSURGENT SUPPORT BASE

AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILLS 61 ENEMY FIGHTERS, CAPTURE 20 IN OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS

ANA HOLDS FIRST SOLDIER BOARD IN SHIR ZAI

ANA INSPECTOR GENERAL VISITS MAZIR-E-SHARIF

COALITION FORCES RESPOND TO MULTIPLE INSURGENT ATTACKS MAY 18

COALITION FORCES RECOVER FIVE WEAPONS CACHES

Department of Defense
Unity Government a Turning Point in Iraq - Story
Too Soon to Announce Troop Withdrawal - Story
Up to 80 Taliban Believed Killed in Operation - Story
Next 100 Days Crucial for Iraq, Casey Says - Story
VA Urges Caution After Theft of Personal Info - Story

IRAQIS TAKE THE LEAD
Iraqi Signal School Graduates Latest Class - Story

REBUILDING IRAQI
School Benefits More Than 800 Iraqi Students - Story

ON THE GROUND
Taji Center Stresses Counterinsurgency Ops - Story - On Assignment
Gunners Safer, See Better With New Turrets - Story
U.S. Sailors Monitor Iraqi Oil Platform Security - Story

IN IRAQ
Security Mission Unit Keeps Sheikh Informed
Combat Support Hospital Still Saving Lives
Bulletproof Jacket Keeps Troops Afloat

IN AFGHANISTAN
Coalition Vendor Day Aids Afghan Businesses
Afghan Soldiers Get In-Depth Airdrop Training

IN THE HORN OF AFRICA
Marines Help Rebuild Djiboutian Soccer Field
Pakistani Admiral Visits Camp Lemonier
Task Force Troops Visit African Orphanages

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
U.S. Marine Killed
Bush, Rice Weigh In on Government
Unity Office to Aid New Government
Too Soon to Predict U.S. Withdrawal
Tips Lead to IED Factory
Muqdadiyah Raid Successful
Renewal In Iraq
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (PDF)
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Forces Kill 20 Enemy in Firefight
U.S. Soldier Killed, Six Wounded
Weapons Found, Taliban Targeted
Forces Kill 61 Enemy, Nab 20
Taliban Fighters Killed in Operation
New Radio Station Opens
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Rice Comments on Gitmo Closing
Conference Focus: Maritime Ops
Detainees Skirmish With Guards
Conference Topic: Security Efforts
Detainee Transfer Announced
Pentagon Tests Bio-Attack Response
U.S., Australia to Share More Info
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Nation, Families Remember Fallen
USS Reagan Crew Visits UAE
DoD Leaders: Uncle Sam Needs You
Rumsfeld, Pace: No Mission Conflict
U.S. Relinquishes IADB Position
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Navy Casualty - Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1059 - Henri I crowns his son King Philip I of France.
1275 - King Edward I of England orders that persecution of French Jews cease.
1420 - Jews are expelled from Syria and Austria.
1421 - Jews in Austria are imprisoned and expelled.
1430 - Joan of Arc is captured by Burgundians; later sold to the British.
1660 - King Charles II returns from exile sails from Scheveningen to England.
1701 - Captain (William) Kidd is hanged in London, convicted of piracy and murder.
1774 - Tea is dumpted into the Chester River in the Chestertown tea party.
1785 - Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals.
1788 - South Carolina becomes the eighth state to ratifythe U.S. Constitution.
1861 - Virginia citizens vote 3-1 in favor of secession.
1862 - Stonewall Jackson's Confederates take Front Royal, VA.
1864 - Battle of Dallas (GA); First day of fighting at the Battle of North Anna (VA)
1865 - For the first time since Lincoln's assassination, the flag at the White House flies at full staff; The Grand Review victory parade takes place in Washington, DC.
1867 - The Jesse James Gang robs a bank in Richmond, MO, getting away with $4,000. Two people are killed.
1873 - Canada's North West Mounted Police Force (RCMPF) forms.
1900 - The Associated Press (AP) News Service forms.
1903 - Wisconsin adopts the first U.S. direct primary election law. 1915 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary and Germany.
1928 - 22 die in a bomb attack on the Italian embassy in Buenos Aires.
1939 - The St. George Cross (British) is first presented; Hitler proclaims he wants to move into Poland
1940 - The first great Spitfire dogfight occurs.
1943 - Over 800 Allied bombers attack Dortmund.
1944 - Chinese counter-attack at the Hunan front
1945 - The British arrest Admiral Karl Doenitz; The German island of Helgoland surrenders to the British; Heinrich Himmler commits suicide; Lord Haw-Haw is arrested; Winston Churchill resigns as PM.
1953 - Schools first use Cliff's Notes.
1956 - A World Trade Center is dedicated in Ferry Building in San Fransisco.
1977 - Moluccan extremists hold 155 people hostage (over 100 are children) on a hijacked Dutch train. The children are released six days later; the siege ends on June 11th; the Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeals of H. R. Halderman, John Ehrlichman, and John Mitchell (Watergate)
1981 - Barcelona fascists take 200 hostages.
1991 - The last Cubans troops leave Angola.
1994 - 270 pilgrims die in the crowd crush in Mina, Saudi-Arabia.

Birthdays:
1790 - Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville, explorer
1813 - Union Brevet Major General Mason Brayman
1824 - Union Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside
1837 - Union Brevet Major General James Sanks Brisbin
1848 - German WWI General / chief of staff Helmuth J. L. von Moltke; Otto Lilienthal, pioneer aviator.
1908 - Max Abramovitz, American architect (Lincoln Center, U.N. Building)
1913 - Major General Ian Graeme
1933 - Bruce A. Peterson, American test pilot (M2, HL-10)
1938 - John R. Miller (Representative-WA)
1958 - Thomas Reiter Germany, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-22)

Passings:
1153 - David I, king of Scotland
1498 - Girolamo Savonarola, dictator of Florence, tortured & executed
1701 - Captain William Kidd, Scottish pirate, hanged in London
1881 - Kit Carson, frontiersman
1934 - Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow (Bonnie & Clyde), killed in shootout with police in Shreveport, LA.
1945 - Heinrich Himmler Nazi/Gestapo leader, suicide while in prison
1983 - Albert Claude Belgian, biologist, Nobel prize winner
1991 - Peter T. Thwaites, British Brigadier General / playwright

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Walker, Orien Judson, US Army (MA); Killed in Captivity, February,1966

1967
The following USN personnel reported MIA from SH3A:
Homuth, Richard W. (CA); KIA / BNR

Pettis, Thomas E. (AL); KIA / BNR

Schmittou, Eureka Lavern (AL); KIA / BNR

Soucy, Ronald Philip (IN); KIA / BNR

1968
Cochran, Isom Carter, Jr.,US Army (TX); slipped crossing river, Killed / BNR

Lane, Glen O., US Army SF (TX) ; presumed KIA or captured in ground fight (w/Owen)

Owen, Robert D., US Army SF (VA) ; presumed KIA or captured in ground fight (w/Lane)

Schrump, Raymond C., US Army (WI); captured while driving truck, released by PRG February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

1969
Benton, Gregory R., USMC (CA); family states is Native American (record lists caucasian)

Ramirez, Armando, US Army (AZ); UH1H shot down, KIA / BNR

1972
Byrns, William G., USAF (MO); F4D shot down (w/Bean), released by DRV March, 1973 - active duty Colonel as of 1996 - alive and well in 1998

Bean, William R., Jr. USAF (AL); F4D shot down (w/Byrns), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well in 1998

Barnett, Charles E. USN (TX); A7B shot down - remains returned November, 1988 - ID'd February, 1989