Navy Corpsman wounded in Afghanistan now running on tennis court

Navy corpsman Anderson shot in Afghanistan, now a U.S. Open ball person
New York Post
By HOWIE KUSSOY
August 31, 2013

The date is embedded in Angelo Anderson’s skin, embedded in his being.

The Navy corpsman sees the date — July 2, 2010 — every day, carved in ink in Roman numerals in his right thigh, marking the day that everything changed, the day that everything almost ended.

“It’s so significant that I just wanted to have it around forever,” said Anderson told The Post. “The story, the date itself, is really when the story became mine.”

The story opened in Afghanistan with the sound of a three-round burst from out of sight, leaving Anderson on the ground, struck by two bullets, which broke the femur in his right leg and the humerus in his right arm.

Today, just over three years later, the 24-year-old will sprint past some of the best tennis players in the world across the asphalt of Flushing Meadows as one of the oldest — and most remarkable — of all the ball persons at the U.S. Open.

“It definitely made me never take anything for granted,” Anderson said. “If that day would’ve been fatal, I wouldn’t have had today.”

The Georgia native joined the Navy after high school and reported to Afghanistan in December 2009, working as a field medical surgeon’s technician who was integrated with the Marines.

For more than six months, Anderson enjoyed the experience and education, speaking with local villagers and helping fellow service members. Then came the sound, on a day of normal patrol, which left Anderson bleeding on the ground, waiting for the firefight to end.
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