Community rallies for Iraq veteran who lost legs helping someone else

Community rallies for Palermo veteran who lost legs in crash
By Abigail Curtis, BDN Staff
Posted Feb. 10, 2012

PALERMO, Maine — Two years ago, Jeremy Gilley was rappelling out of helicopters in Iraq, where he served as a U.S. Army specialist with airborne special forces.

The 27-year-old Gilley, a Palermo native who graduated from Erskine Academy in South China, made it home to Maine safely. But just before Christmas, disaster struck for the combat veteran when he stopped to help at an accident scene on Route 3 in Augusta.

Gilley parked just in front of a crashed pickup truck early in the morning of Dec. 18 and went to help the injured driver. But a 16-year-old driving a minivan didn’t see the accident and struck the truck, pinning Gilley between two vehicles.

Gilley lost both his legs after that night.

“He’s trained in emergency situations. He did everything he’s supposed to do,” said his aunt Dottie Gilley. “He’s a hero.”

She is working to raise money to help her nephew and his family and to try to bring more national attention to his plight.
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