May 25, 2009
TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN SOLDIER
My son Mike, who is working in Afghanistan, ordered a memorial bracelet for a fallen soldier.
Sgt. Johnny Peralez Jr. was the trauma medic in the unit where Brian, a friend of my son, fought in Iraq. My son, Mike, wanted to wear this bracelet in solidarity with this friend, and as a tribute to this young soldier who lost his life when a roadside bomb blew up his humvee. PLEASE READ BRIAN'S LETTER BELOW.
"Johnny was our lead trauma medic. He was driving for Chris that day because of a strange series of circumstances that I won’t even go into. What you need to know is that between our first and second deployments, they discovered that he had a heart condition that made him non-deployable. He refused to stay behind even though most of us didn’t even want to go. He said that the unit and his soldiers needed him. He focused on training the medics because he knew how important they were to the unit’s role.
When we were in Kuwait, I saw a large group at one end of our Quonset hut and when I made my way through it SGT P was sitting on a cot with two five-inch scalpel wounds in each leg. There were four medics suturing him up from either end of the wounds. I discovered that he had shot his legs full of anesthetic and opened the wounds up himself with a scalpel. He had the medics practicing sutureing wounds. When I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing he said “Sir, these soldiers need training and this is the best way to get it done.” You would have liked him, he was fascinated with the technical aspects of the human body and medicine. When he taught, the entire unit would turn up for his classes and listen with fascination. When we would ask why or how something was the way it was, he would always respond with the same reply: “Because the human body is an amazing thing.”
Brian
Here is a link.
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/1459374.html
I photographed the bracelet for my son to send to Brian in tribute to his fallen friend. I thought about shooting the bracelet on our flag, but somehow the idea of a flower (life) and the black bracelet (death) was more poignant to me at the time. I am sure that Sgt. Peralez has saved many wounded men and women by teaching others how to care for them.
TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN SOLDIER
My son Mike, who is working in Afghanistan, ordered a memorial bracelet for a fallen soldier.
Sgt. Johnny Peralez Jr. was the trauma medic in the unit where Brian, a friend of my son, fought in Iraq. My son, Mike, wanted to wear this bracelet in solidarity with this friend, and as a tribute to this young soldier who lost his life when a roadside bomb blew up his humvee. PLEASE READ BRIAN'S LETTER BELOW.
"Johnny was our lead trauma medic. He was driving for Chris that day because of a strange series of circumstances that I won’t even go into. What you need to know is that between our first and second deployments, they discovered that he had a heart condition that made him non-deployable. He refused to stay behind even though most of us didn’t even want to go. He said that the unit and his soldiers needed him. He focused on training the medics because he knew how important they were to the unit’s role.
When we were in Kuwait, I saw a large group at one end of our Quonset hut and when I made my way through it SGT P was sitting on a cot with two five-inch scalpel wounds in each leg. There were four medics suturing him up from either end of the wounds. I discovered that he had shot his legs full of anesthetic and opened the wounds up himself with a scalpel. He had the medics practicing sutureing wounds. When I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing he said “Sir, these soldiers need training and this is the best way to get it done.” You would have liked him, he was fascinated with the technical aspects of the human body and medicine. When he taught, the entire unit would turn up for his classes and listen with fascination. When we would ask why or how something was the way it was, he would always respond with the same reply: “Because the human body is an amazing thing.”
Brian
Here is a link.
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/1459374.html
I photographed the bracelet for my son to send to Brian in tribute to his fallen friend. I thought about shooting the bracelet on our flag, but somehow the idea of a flower (life) and the black bracelet (death) was more poignant to me at the time. I am sure that Sgt. Peralez has saved many wounded men and women by teaching others how to care for them.
May 25, 2009
TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN SOLDIER
My son Mike, who is working in Afghanistan, ordered a memorial bracelet for a fallen soldier.
Sgt. Johnny Peralez Jr. was the trauma medic in the unit where Brian, a friend of my son, fought in Iraq. My son, Mike, wanted to wear this bracelet in solidarity with this friend, and as a tribute to this young soldier who lost his life when a roadside bomb blew up his humvee. PLEASE READ BRIAN'S LETTER BELOW.
"Johnny was our lead trauma medic. He was driving for Chris that day because of a strange series of circumstances that I won’t even go into. What you need to know is that between our first and second deployments, they discovered that he had a heart condition that made him non-deployable. He refused to stay behind even though most of us didn’t even want to go. He said that the unit and his soldiers needed him. He focused on training the medics because he knew how important they were to the unit’s role.
When we were in Kuwait, I saw a large group at one end of our Quonset hut and when I made my way through it SGT P was sitting on a cot with two five-inch scalpel wounds in each leg. There were four medics suturing him up from either end of the wounds. I discovered that he had shot his legs full of anesthetic and opened the wounds up himself with a scalpel. He had the medics practicing sutureing wounds. When I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing he said “Sir, these soldiers need training and this is the best way to get it done.” You would have liked him, he was fascinated with the technical aspects of the human body and medicine. When he taught, the entire unit would turn up for his classes and listen with fascination. When we would ask why or how something was the way it was, he would always respond with the same reply: “Because the human body is an amazing thing.”
Brian
Here is a link.
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/1459374.html
I photographed the bracelet for my son to send to Brian in tribute to his fallen friend. I thought about shooting the bracelet on our flag, but somehow the idea of a flower (life) and the black bracelet (death) was more poignant to me at the time. I am sure that Sgt. Peralez has saved many wounded men and women by teaching others how to care for them.
TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN SOLDIER
My son Mike, who is working in Afghanistan, ordered a memorial bracelet for a fallen soldier.
Sgt. Johnny Peralez Jr. was the trauma medic in the unit where Brian, a friend of my son, fought in Iraq. My son, Mike, wanted to wear this bracelet in solidarity with this friend, and as a tribute to this young soldier who lost his life when a roadside bomb blew up his humvee. PLEASE READ BRIAN'S LETTER BELOW.
"Johnny was our lead trauma medic. He was driving for Chris that day because of a strange series of circumstances that I won’t even go into. What you need to know is that between our first and second deployments, they discovered that he had a heart condition that made him non-deployable. He refused to stay behind even though most of us didn’t even want to go. He said that the unit and his soldiers needed him. He focused on training the medics because he knew how important they were to the unit’s role.
When we were in Kuwait, I saw a large group at one end of our Quonset hut and when I made my way through it SGT P was sitting on a cot with two five-inch scalpel wounds in each leg. There were four medics suturing him up from either end of the wounds. I discovered that he had shot his legs full of anesthetic and opened the wounds up himself with a scalpel. He had the medics practicing sutureing wounds. When I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing he said “Sir, these soldiers need training and this is the best way to get it done.” You would have liked him, he was fascinated with the technical aspects of the human body and medicine. When he taught, the entire unit would turn up for his classes and listen with fascination. When we would ask why or how something was the way it was, he would always respond with the same reply: “Because the human body is an amazing thing.”
Brian
Here is a link.
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/1459374.html
I photographed the bracelet for my son to send to Brian in tribute to his fallen friend. I thought about shooting the bracelet on our flag, but somehow the idea of a flower (life) and the black bracelet (death) was more poignant to me at the time. I am sure that Sgt. Peralez has saved many wounded men and women by teaching others how to care for them.
See photo in gallery
