Soldier who lost 4 limbs given hero's welcome in US hometown

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http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC121005-0000124/Solider-who-lost-4-limbs-given-heros-welcome-in-US-hometown

Army Staff Sgt Travis Mills had been a lot of places since losing his four limbs in Afghanistan. The one place he had not been was where people knew him best.

He finally returned to his Michigan hometown this week - six months after the explosion that cost him his arms and legs - to serve as the grand marshal of his old high school's homecoming parade.

"I didn't come to Vassar yet, because I wasn't ready for people to see me without my legs ... Because in Vassar, everybody knows everybody," Mills said in an interview hours before the parade yesterday. "Great town, but I just wasn't comfortable with them seeing me in a wheelchair."

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Hundreds of people waving American flags jammed into Vassar's downtown to catch a glimpse of Mr Mills at the parade yesterday. Mr Mills, his wife, Mrs Kelsey Mills, and their 1-year-old daughter, Chloe, served as the grand marshals.

Mr Mills stood tall in the back of a Jeep, smiling and waving his left prosthetic arm as people screamed his name. He occasionally yelled out the name of someone he recognised.

Mr Mills barely suffered a scratch during his first two tours of Afghanistan, but during his third, on April 10, he placed a bag of ammunition down on an improvised explosive device. The resulting blast tore through the athlete's muscular 6-foot-3 frame. Since then, he has undergone a grueling series of medical procedures and been pushed to the limits by medical professionals intent on seeing him pull through his rare injury.

"It was a lot to take in," Mr Mills said of the signs of support he saw on the drive from the airport to his parents' home. "Now, I just have to make sure not to let everyone down."

Mr Paul Wojno, Vassar High's principal, said the turnout for the parade and bonfire was "nothing short of fantastic", noting organisers handed out 1,500 flags and not everyone along the route had one.

"This is my new normal, and it's all about how I adjust to it," he said moments after using his prosthetic legs to walk from the living room to the sun room at his childhood home. "There's no good that's gonna come from me sitting there and wondering, 'Why'd this happen? Why me? Now what do I do?' The answer's right in front of you: It happened because it happened."

Mr Mills almost did not come home at all.

Within 20 seconds of the IED explosion, a fast-working medic affixed tourniquets to all four of Mr Mills' limbs to ensure he would not bleed to death.

The medic was able to save Mr Mills' life but not his limbs.