Jackson with his family -- and colorful prosthetic legs.
On a sweet piece of real estate in Lake Nona, Army Specialist B.J. Jackson will soon get the homecoming he earned a decade ago.
In 2003, his 186th Military Police Company was selected to set up a new headquarters in Iraq. Jackson was driving a Humvee of fellow soldiers through Baghdad when the vehicle triggered a roadside bomb and drew gunfire.
Jackson was trapped in the burning wreckage. He lost both legs below the knees and suffered severe burns on his arms, thighs and back. He spent six weeks in a medically induced coma and nearly 50 days in the post-burn unit.
He was awarded the Purple Heart. And four months later, he was skiing on his new prosthetic limbs.
That’s the kind of guy Jackson is.
In fact, he has turned personal sacrifice and great loss into a mission to inspire others, speaking both to newly injured soldiers and to businesses and churches that need a dose of reality and positive thinking. (His personal website is dubbed RightToBearStumps.com.) He also has volunteered with elbow grease for the nonprofit Building Homes for Heroes, never expecting anything in return.
When the secondary effects of his injuries began taking a toll, though, the charity decided to return his kindness.
Last week, it broke ground on what promises to be a lovely, two-story home for Jackson, his wife and six children. Students from North Lake Park Community School turned out to cheer him on.
“The best part for myself and my family is really educating the children that there are service coming home different, but that’s OK,” he said.
If you’d like to contribute to the cost of construction for Jackson’s home — and future homes for other wounded veterans — click here.
