A Marine blinded by an improvised explosive device, an Army sergeant who rescued a sailor wounded by an IED, and a Coast Guard technician who did rescue work in the hurricanes will be among the special guests at the State of the Union address Tuesday.
In announcing the list of First Lady Melania Trump's 11 special guests, the White House said among them would be retired Cpl. Matthew Bradford, who was blinded and lost both legs when he stepped on an IED in Iraq in 2007.
After multiple surgeries and therapies, Bradford became the first Marine with such severe injuries ever to re-enlist, the White House said. Bradford re-enlisted in 2010 and has since retired.
Bradford, now 30, originally from Winchester, Kentucky, was assigned to work with other wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, when he re-enlisted.
Joining Bradford in the First Lady's section in the House balcony for President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress will be Staff Sgt. Justin Peck, who has served eight years in the Army.
Last November, Peck was part of a team with Navy Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy that was clearing IEDs in Raqqa in eastern Syria, the so-called capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that had been retaken by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
Stacy was severely wounded by an IED while clearing the second floor of a hospital building. Ignoring the threat from other IEDs, Peck rushed into the building, applied a tourniquet, put in an endotracheal tube and was "directly responsible for saving Chief Petty Officer Stacy's life," the White House said.
Another special guest will be Coast Guard Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Ashlee Leppert. While working out of the Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans last year, Leppert helped to rescue "dozens of Americans imperiled during the devastating hurricane season," the White House said.
In announcing the list, White House Press Secretary said the three service members and the other eight special guests "represent the unbreakable American spirit" that Trump will cite as being a major factor in U.S. successes at home and abroad.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
