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Local group that helps families of wounded soldiers set to hold annual fundraiser Date published: 10/2/2009
BY JONAS BEALS It was 5:45 a.m. in Alaska when Angie Pearce got a phone call from Baghdad. The person on the other end told her that her husband had been wounded in action, but was OK. He had only a little neck pain. She got another call three hours later. Her husband was still doing fine. The brain surgery had gone well. "I kind of lost it at that point," she said. When she finally saw her husband in a Bethesda, Md., hospital four days later, he was definitely not doing well. "They pretty much gave him no hope of survival," she said. "They told me he was blind." Two months after he arrived in Baghdad, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Pearce was wounded when his Humvee was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device. Shrapnel pierced the back of his head and penetrated his occipital lobe. He was the only person injured in the attack. Angie Pearce later learned that Brian's heart had stopped beating at one point after the attack, but he was resuscitated. Surgery and lengthy stays in intensive care followed. He eventually made it to McGuire Veterans Affairs Hospital in Richmond. He regained full consciousness 60 days after the explosion. His wife was by his side the whole time. Their two children--Logan, now 10, and Jordan, now 11--were living with a friend back in Alaska. That was in December of 2006. Brian Pearce was 36. He's 39 now--still learning to live with a disability and the psychological trauma of his experience in Iraq. His family is with him in Mechanicsville, where they have support from the VA and Families of the Wounded--a group of generous veterans who know what Brian Pearce is going through. Tomorrow, he will be honored along with two other families by the Families of the Wounded Fund. The black-tie event will be held at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and features a speech by Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command. FINDING NEEDED SUPPORT The Pearce family is grateful for the continued support they've received from Families of the Wounded over the years. It hasn't been easy. Brian Pearce is still getting extensive outpatient therapy at McGuire.
Date published: 10/2/2009
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