Burns

Before Cpl. Brandon Burns left for Iraq, his father, Terry, gave him a family heirloom. It was an old, worn silver dollar that Brandon's grandfather, Mike, carried in World War II. Terry had inherited it and held onto it while he served in Vietnam. As Brandon accepted the coin, he teased his father. "Thanks a lot for jinxing me, dad." Terry, after all, could have given Brandon the coin with a prosthetic, just as Terry's father could have passed him the coin with a hand that was shot during combat in Europe. Brandon, a native of Memphis, Tenn., had enlisted in the Marine Corps right out of high school. He was still 17 when he got off the bus at Paris Island for boot camp. He'd just turned 19 when his unit deployed to Iraq. Terry couldn't have known at the time that Brandon, like he and his father before him, would return from war forever changed. On Nov. 9, 2004, Brandon called home from Fallujah. "'Don't worry, mom. Everything is going to be all right,' he told its. He said lie loved us and would talk to us later," his mother, Sherry, remembers. That same day, Brandon Burns was shot in the head by an enemy sniper. Corpsmen rushed to his aid, shouting loudly at Brandon to keep him conscious. A significant portion of his skull and brain had been blown off. The critically injured Marine was in the process of being medically evacuated when the field ambulance that transported him struck a landmine. Somehow, Brandon survived long enough to make it to surgery at a Baghdad hospital. From there, lie was sent to a military hospital in Germany. Brandon had been hospitalized there for nearly a week before Sherry received the news that her son had been wounded. "It's one of those times you never forget," she said. "I was in the middle of changing a diaper and the phone rang. The answering machine picked up and l heard someone saying his name. I jumped up and picked up the phone." The extent of Brandon's injury was not fully revealed to Terry or Sherry. From Germany, Brandon was sent to the Navy hospital in Bethesda, Md., and then onto James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Fla., where he began therapy and treatment for his traumatic brain injury, When the family was finally reunited, the news from doctors was grim. Brandon might never remember the ones he loved. It was possible he'd never walk again. Part of his brain was removed and a surgical plate covered portions of his skull that the sniper's bullet had taken away. The process of rehabilitation would be long and arduous, and Brandon might never speak again. "I didn't care what they said. I was just happy to have him home. There're four (other patients in the hospital) who weren't so lucky. I'm grateful to God," Sherry said. As it turns out, Brandon's first steps toward recovery showed great promise. Over time, the family realized that, while Brandon had problems with his short-term memory, his long-term memory remained intact. Brandon spent four weeks training in Tampa, and his improvement was impressive. The trauma to his brain makes it difficult for him to use the right side of his body. According to Terry. Brandon's drive to recover was obvious. In the first week he was walking. Now, the family knows, recovery will come one step at a time. "My son is a Marine. And I'm incredibly proud of how hard he's worked to get where he's at now, He works like a Marine. He fights like a Marine," said Terry, an Army veteran. Still, the challenges Brandon faces affect the whole family. At times, due to his injuries, lie gets severe headaches. And Brandon's goal of earning his bachelor's degree--he hopes to go even further can seem impossible at times. The family faces peaks and valleys. "Brandon can process his thoughts. But he can't get them out verbally, Sometimes he gets down because it's hard for him to speak. There are a lot of things lie wants to say." Terry noted. "His speech is coming back, but it 's just a little bit at a time." "In same ways, it's like lie's trapped in his own mind. It's frustrating. He just turned 20. He thinks lie can wake up like in a movie, and the next day everything will be all right. I try to tell him it's not like that. I know. It takes time, and that's real hard for him." Alongside their faith, which family members say Brandon took to Iraq, the family has gotten a lot of support from their church, friends, and community. Brandon's fellow Marines have visited him and keep in touch. In August, he went to San Diego to visit his unit before they returned to Iraq. His commander had asked Brandon to draw a picture for them to take back to combat. It took him weeks, but he came through with a sketch of a guardian angel. In April. Brandon was awarded a free life membership by Commander Ralph Reinagel of Chapter 70. Memphis, Term. Most parents wouldn't want their children to be eligible for membership in DAV But it's one silver dollar the Burns family is happy to accept. "If the same thing would have happened to Brandon when I was in (Vietnam), he wouldn't have survived," Terry said. "We're lucky. We're very fortunate. And I thank God for that every day."