By Terry Karkos, Staff Writer
Published on Saturday, Feb 4, 2012
NEWRY — From all outward appearances, Tyler Kurth looked and acted like a Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation volunteer on Friday at Sunday River Ski Resort.
Dressed head to toe in black, Kurth, 28, even wore a bright orange “Guide” vest while helping volunteer Kathy Kroll with her blind skier brother, Carl Kroll.
However, Kurth is one of 26 disabled veterans and active-duty military persons participating with their families in Maine Adaptive's seventh annual Veterans/No Boundaries program this weekend.
A retired captain with the 10th Mountain Division, he now works with the Wounded Warrior Unit at Fort Drum in Watertown, N.Y.
Like many of the participating veterans, Kurth is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and physical limitations.
During a patrol on Oct. 2, 2009, with Afghan police in Afghanistan, Kurth was shot three times — in the right leg, right chest and right shoulder — from 4 feet away by an Afghan officer armed with an AK-47 assault rifle.
Kurth used his body to shield a soldier behind him, then saved the lives of two other soldiers and called for help.
Two soldiers were killed, while Kurth and two other soldiers were severely wounded. It was the first such attack of its kind by previously trusted Afghan nationals they'd trained, he said.
For his actions that day, Kurth has been nominated for the Medal of Honor. But on Friday, he just wanted to enjoy Maine Adaptive's program.
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