Everyone has a birthday, however not everybody has an Alive Day. Staff Sergeant Johnny Joey Jones does, and that day is August 6, 2010. That week started with 300 United States Marines being despatched right into a city in Afghanistan to take management of it.
“We identified a building that we needed to take, which meant we had to take the whole village,” Jones mentioned. His position was as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, which meant he needed to test for bombs that will have been positioned underground. They later discovered that the enemy hid over 200 bombs earlier than leaving the town. After 5 days of clearing buildings and streets, they had been making nice progress. Then, on Aug. 6, Jones was woken up by Reserve Engineer Daniel Greer, who suggested him that he was wanted to analyze a constructing.
“I got up, got dressed, it was literally across the street from the compound we had set up,” he shared. They discovered a brand new kind of improvised explosive system (IED), and each new type of weaponry needed to be reported and documented so their allies and fellow servicemembers may pay attention to them.
“I was in the process of bringing people over to help with that, and I stepped on an IED that I didn’t know was there.”
The explosion resulted in Jones shedding each of his legs above the knee, and he suffered injury to each of his wrists and proper forearm. Greer misplaced his life. While the mission would ultimately be accomplished, Jones had his personal points to face. He was instantly eliminated to get medical consideration, and his solely focus going ahead was restoration and rehabilitation.
“The physical healing of shutting the holes, reattaching muscles, and everything else was about three months. Then, I went to Walter Reed (Hospital) to learn how to use the prosthetics.”
By February 2011, he was strolling on prosthetics, and by July of that yr, he was engaged on Capitol Hill. At one level throughout his restoration, he was the topic of a phase on ABC Nightline, and he shared a press release that confirmed how mentally robust he really was.
“I told them I didn’t lose both of my legs. I was given a second chance at life.”
Johnny Joey Jones Has Extended His Influence Nationwide
Jones might not have identified what his destiny can be when he joined the Marines, however he knew that he was destined for one thing past his hometown. Jones grew up within the northwestern United States, and his household was no stranger to service. His nice grandfather was a Marine, and he had six uncles that had been drafted into the army. He mentioned that they didn’t focus on a lot about what they did throughout that point, however they knew that they at the very least had been within the army. Jones didn’t have any grand plans to hitch the Marines or every other department of the army, however two of his mates had fathers that had been in service. One was on lively responsibility within the Air Force in Arkansas, and the opposite was their soccer coach in addition to a reserve Marine.
“I had those guys influencing me, and by the time I graduated high school, Chris went to college, Keith went to work, and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do,” he recalled. “Keith actually recruited me to join the Marine Corps with him.”
It wasn’t simply their affect that helped him make that call. Neither of his dad and mom graduated highschool, but they did all they might to make sure that he did. Jones felt like that was a present, and he could possibly be doing extra with it.
“There was more for me to achieve than working an hourly job. The Marine Corps became my way of doing more.”
In April 2005, Jones was off besides camp, however by 2007, he was already on his first tour in Iraq in a safety position. Once he returned from that mission, he utilized to grow to be an EOD tech, and he bought the place. After finishing college for that place, he was despatched to Afghanistan in March 2010, which is the place he skilled his Alive Day.
Johnny Joey Jones Uses the Weightroom for Physical and Mental Strength
Even with all he had been by means of to that time, Jones by no means settled and remained selfless. He is pushed to go above and past for himself and others. He discovered that over 50 techs had been despatched to Walter Reed, and he knew 13 of them on a first-name foundation. Living with the idea that the more durable you’re employed for others, the more durable you’re employed for your self, he needed to do no matter he can to supply his help to them so they might transfer ahead like he did. He additionally took half in a mentor program, which he felt helped them keep linked to what he referred to as “the other end of the tunnel.”
“For me, I wanted to go visit those guys and tell them what’s ahead, especially since after you physically recover, you change locations. Within those first couple of months of using prosthetics, I realized there was something to be done, and I could be proactive to showing those guys and gals what they had in store.”
Another element that has helped Jones each mentally and bodily was coaching and health. He related figuring out with onerous work in a great way. He recalled that his father labored as a brick mason, they usually had been poor, in order that they did lots of work to get by. He doesn’t prepare to attain a sure look, it’s to be ready for challenges that will lie forward.
Jones mentioned, “There’s only one way to get things done, and that’s to do it. It was a part of my culture I grew up in. You didn’t have to look good, but you better be strong.”
He didn’t get acquainted with the weightroom till he performed soccer in highschool, however he felt a robust connection instantly, and that connection stays with him to at the present time.
“I always found that to be vitally important to my mental health. If I went a week without working out, I didn’t feel right.”
Johnny Joey Jones Is A Voice for Veterans
Jones’ story and work to make a distinction has been inspiring to many Americans. Since 2019, Jones had been a contributor to Fox News, and he has been a bunch of exhibits on the community in addition to Fox Nation. Having a platform of that magnitude to make a distinction wasn’t one thing that Jones was relying on, however so long as he has it, he needed to make a distinction.
“I’m very passionate about advocating for other people in the same position as me,” he defined. “I became a fellow for the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and I got the ears of the right people. From there, I had the opportunity to be around different things that were happening, and I met a producer for Fox that is no longer here named Jen Williams. She had been producing a show and invited me to come on.”
Thanks to that preliminary alternative, Jones has been lively in growing consciousness of a wide range of points and advocating for veterans and households. He needed to shine a highlight on others who’ve made their very own nice commitments and sacrifices for freedom. His new guide, Unbroken Bonds of Battle, shares the tales of different veterans resembling Staff Sergeant Nate Boyer, Captain (Ret.) Wesley Hunt, and Gold Star Wife Stacy Greer on behalf of her late husband, amongst others. His aim for the guide is identical as the whole lot else he has performed so far – make a distinction for people who desperately want it.
“We all need help and inspiration. I realized the story to tell wasn’t about what happened to me, but about those of the people that got me through it. The guardian angels that I didn’t know were angels at the time, the people that without them, I wouldn’t have a story to tell. They all had a profound impact on my life, and they all served.”
Johnny Joey Jones desires the folks to learn this guide to suppose past what’s within the pages. The folks featured had a profound influence on him, which is why he needed to assist inform their tales to the world, however he hopes the reader will end it and ask themselves who these ten folks can be of their lives.
“Maybe you don’t know them as well as others, but the way you do know them is and should be very important to you.”
You can order Unbroken Bonds of Battle at Fox News Books.
Follow Jones on Instagram @johnny_joey.