Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister, wounded in Iraq climbs Mount McKinley

Wounded warriors summit McKinley

Soldier wounded in Iraq won’t let injury end his career or limit his goals
By Joe Gould - Staff writers
Posted : Sunday May 9, 2010 15:07:15 EDT

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The roadside bomb that destroyed Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister’s Humvee in al-Hillah, Iraq, in 2007, blasted a jet of molten metal through the rear driver’s side door to the front passenger seat. It ripped through a sergeant and a gunner’s legs, sprayed shrapnel into the driver’s back and into an interpreter’s face.

When Hoffmeister lifted his left arm to radio for help, he saw a hole had been cut through it. The wound could have ended his career, if not his life, but Hoffmeister would not let it.

The officer from Eagle River, Alaska, fought his way to recovery, and in June is due to assume command of the 6th Engineer Battalion, which may deploy to Iraq in the fall.

“I haven’t stopped since I was wounded, I haven’t had the opportunity to,” said Hoffmeister, who was in the pre-command course here last month.

More impressively, he climbed treacherous Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, with three other wounded warriors.
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Wounded warriors summit McKinley