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by Kara Hildreth
Thisweek Newspapers
Standing tall with legs of steel, Iraq War veteran Sgt. John Kriesel offered students firm handshakes and a few jokes after sharing his story.
The day before Veterans Day, Kriesel spoke to seventh-graders at Dodge Middle School in Farmington about the realities of war, the hard work of recovery and how to rebound physically and mentally after tragic loss.
PHOTO: Iraq War veteran Sgt. John Kriesel shared his story with seventh-graders on Nov. 10 at Dodge Middle School in Farmington. Photos by Rick Orndorf
The seventh-graders sat cross-legged in the media center ready to listen to this young veteran’s story.
Three years ago Sgt. Kriesel, 28, tragically lost both legs after a
roadside bomb blasted his Humvee on a dirt road near Fallujah, Iraq.
“I woke up on the ground and saw I was hurt pretty bad and I had lost both legs,” Kriesel said.
His limbs were hanging on, barely inside his pant legs.
“I am missing one leg below my knee and the other one I can do this,”
he said, twisting his prosthetic leg he said resembles a robotic leg.
“I lost a lot of blood and I was pretty sure I was not going to make
it.”
Fellow soldiers bandaged up his leg wounds and talked to him so he would stay conscious until the helicopter arrived.
Hoping to become an EMT or firefighter after his military service,
Kriesel said he knew it was not good when his body felt cold before he
heard the loud roar of the rescue helicopter.
“They did a fantastic job and saved me,” he said. “My pelvis was broken
off my spine. … I woke up eight days later after the blast at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. That was the first time I saw
my wife.”
His wife shared grim news about how his military buddies – Bryan
McDonough from Maplewood and Corey Rystad of Red Lake Falls – were
killed in the bomb blast.
In the fall of 2006 Kriesel chose to serve in the Army and fight in the Iraq War.
Kriesel explained that U.S. military police drive around to make sure
the Iraq people are safe and his group helped to build new schools.
In December 2006, he received a call about a bomb in the road.
“On the way down we drove over a bomb that destroyed our fully armored Humvee and blew it to pieces,” he said.
After surviving an incredible loss of blood, Kriesel fought off infection and endured more than 32 surgeries.
He recalls the day he reunited with his two boys. His wife tried to
prepare her sons to see their daddy, who was lying in bed looking thin
with tubes and casts on his broken arms and the absence of his legs.
“My son asked what kind of hurt I had and if my legs were going to grow back,” he said.
His oldest son came to the hospital room and said, “You don’t have to cover them up Dad – I am just happy you are alive.”
“Then I knew everything was going to be just fine,” Kriesel said.
“There was a moment in my life that I had to get really tough and
think about what was really important – and yeah, it sucks not having
legs – but there are much more important things.”
Retired from the Army, Kriesel works in the marketing department for the Army National Guard.
A teacher asked how a community can support soldiers. Kriesel said all soldiers appreciate cards, letters and care packages.
“But if you see someone in uniform, thanking them for their service is the coolest thing on earth,” he said.
Receiving a Purple Heart for bravery from President George W. Bush,
Kriesel said, “I could not stand up because of my pelvis, and I had to
lay flat on my spine. But it was very cool and I have the picture on my
wall.”
President Bush “touched foreheads with me and said ‘you are my guy,’ and that was super cool,” he said.
A teacher asked Kriesel “What has helped you so you don’t wallow in anger?”
“That was never an option because I am so happy to be alive and because
when I was lying on the ground I knew it was almost the end,” Kriesel
said.
Reminding students to find pleasure in daily life, Kriesel said, “You
are only a kid once and it is the little things; school is important
and doing your homework, but don’t forget to live life fully.”
“Enjoy the little things like sitting in the lunch room laughing with
your friends,” he said. “You are never too cool to tell your friends
you love them.”
When a student asked if Kriesel can run, he said “I am in the process
to get my running legs and I need to build up my calcium to make my
bones stronger.”
A young boy asked if Kriesel would again enlist in the military if he knew he would end up losing his legs.
“I absolutely would and I know it sounds crazy,” he said. “Because of
the person it has made me today – I feel I have learned and gained more
than I have lost.”
Before the accident, Kriesel said the worst thing was in 1998 when the
Vikings kicker missed a goal and the team did not go to the Super Bowl.
When asked if he lives with flashbacks, he said, “At first I did. It
was tough to adjust to that and I had bad dreams, but with time and a
positive attitude now I just had a dream about the Vikings and them
losing.”
“Bad things happen to everybody,” he said. “It is all about how you react to the adversity in life.
“If you look at the bright side of everything, you can lead a happy life and nothing can stop you and you will go very far.”
Kara Hildreth is at
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