For many veterans who return home from battlefields, they often find themselves in another battle - a battle with their own mental health.
Brian MastRead
I became a bomb technician because I wanted to save lives. I nearly gave my own life for that - I lost both my legs and a finger when a roadside bomb detonated beneath me - and have known more heroes than I can count who died defending others.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the bravery and sacrifice involved in choosing a profession that protects others, often at great personal risk.
Brian Mast's quote highlights the profound dedication of those who serve as bomb technicians, emphasizing that their work is driven by a desire to save lives, even when faced with life-threatening dangers. He shares his own experience of losing both legs and a finger to a roadside bomb, underscoring the personal cost of such heroism and honoring the memory of other heroes who have died while defending others.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech honoring veterans who have sacrificed for their country.
For many veterans who return home from battlefields, they often find themselves in another battle - a battle with their own mental health.
As a career Army bomb technician, I have seen real heroism in the Ranger warfighters I stalked Afghanistan with each night and in the injured combatants whom I healed alongside in Walter Reed Army Medical Center after losing the two legs God gave me.
I remember promising myself that should I live I would prove myself deserving of life.
Sometimes people ask me how difficult the astronaut program was, but being in Sierra Leone, being responsible for the health of more than 200 people, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at age 26 - that prepared me to take on a lot of different challenges.
We put fear and prejudice on trial, and fear and prejudice lost.
There are uses to adversity, and they don't reveal themselves until tested. Whether it's serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.
Black Power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.
Many people have been getting too casual about climbing Everest. I forecast a disaster many times.
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