Proud to Be An American

On this Veteran's Day I had the privilege of meeting Marine Corporal Aaron Mankin. I shook his hand (his left one) and thanked him for his service.

In 2005, Mankin was a Marine combat correspondent assigned to cover Operation Matador, a mission to root out insurgents near the Syrian border north of the Euphrates River. Mankin was riding in an amphibious assault vehicle when a massive explosion from an IED made from old artillery ammunition rocked the 26-ton vehicle.

The violent blast threw Mankin down inside the vehicle. When the instant haze of chaos and concussion cleared, Mankin opened his eyes. He was on fire.

The incident left Mankin with 25 percent of his body burned. His genetic predisposition to generate unusually high amounts of scar tissue caused his facial features to gradually contort, eventually twisting and fusing his nose and mouth area so much that his mouth shrank to a tiny, taut opening about an inch below an asymmetrical half-nose that, without its natural tip, displayed irregularly large nostrils and an upturned look.

Mankin underwent about 40 surgeries, including myriad skin grafts and an operation to open his mouth back up so he could eat normally.



I hope all of you take the time today to think about those who are risking their lives so we can continue to write blogs or whatever shit you do that you wouldn't be able to do in most other countries in the world.