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Video Center > Specialties & Personnel > Veterans > Wounded Vet Pursues Football Dream
Mild Rating: Contains explicit language.

Wounded Vet Pursues Football Dream

Posted Jan 05, 2012 by Member 26835147

“Daniel was a captain and three-year starter at Brooke Pointe High School in Stafford, Virginia, and led his team to a district championship in his senior season. Because of a series of personal hardships, including the death of his father, Daniel did not go directly to college. Instead, he enlisted in the army, serving two 12-month combat tours—one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. On October 3, 2009, Rodriguez and his unit were at the center of one of the bloodiest showdowns of the entire war. The Battle of Kamdesh unfolded in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan and saw a force of roughly 300 Taliban soldiers ambush an American force one-fifth its size. The American force suffered eight deaths; the Taliban lost 150. Daniel was wounded. He caught shrapnel in his legs and neck and took a bullet fragment through his shoulder. He received the Bronze Star for valor for his acts during that battle, which, according to accounts, include him running 300 meters under heavy fire to take the place of a fallen soldier. Daniel was treated for his wounds in-country and completed his 12-month tour. He is home now, and is taking advantage of the GI Bill by attending school at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg. He wants to transfer to a four-year institution and resume his football career—and his dream is to do it at Virginia Tech.”

Specialties & Personnel, Veterans
football, heroes, veterans, sports, shock & awe, wounded warriors
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  1. Desert_Fox-1
    Desert_Fox-1 1 week ago

    Welcome home, Soldier! Hope your dream comes true. US Combat Vet (Vietnam: 1st Cav Div (AM) '68-'69)

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