Joe Bacani has become the face of disabled American veterans

War hero shocked, humbled to be featured on veterans memorial
New York Post
By Maureen Callahan
October 5, 2014

The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, located south and west of the United States Capitol, will be dedicated on Sunday, October 5. New Yorker Joe Bacani is featured on the memorial.
Photo: Ron Sachs / CNP

Without ever meaning to, Joe Bacani has become the face of disabled American veterans.

He had been discharged from the Army in 2007 after taking sniper fire in Iraq and spending weeks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in a wheelchair, learning how to walk again. A few years later, he got a package in the mail. Inside was a letter detailing the ongoing construction of a memorial dedicated to disabled vets. Also inside was a photo taken of Bacani in his wheelchair after he had just been awarded the Purple Heart. Would he allow this image to be used on a wall?

“I remember what I was thinking when that photo was taken,” Bacani says. “Half of me was like, ‘Hurry up and take this photo. I can’t wait till this ceremony’s over.’ And the other half of me was thinking, ‘What am I going to do? How am I going to move on?’ ”
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