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  • 5
    Oct
    2012
    5:44am, EDT

    Soldier who lost 4 limbs in Afghanistan returns home to hero's welcome

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Chloe Mills, 1-year-old daughter of Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills and his wife Kelsey, crawls past her father's walking legs in his boyhood home in Vassar, Mich., on Oct. 4, 2012.

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Travis Mills plays with his daughter Chloe.

    The Associated Press reports from Vassar, Mich. — Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills had been a lot of places since losing his four limbs in Afghanistan. The one place he hadn't 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.

    "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." Read the full story.

    Visit Travis Mills' web page to learn more about his road to recovery.

    Related links:

    • At long last: Remains of soldiers killed in World War II put to rest
    • Wounded warriors show grit, determination on journey to recovery
    • Funeral for a New Jersey soldier killed in Afghanistan

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Mills, right, is helped with his home legs by his father, Dennis Mills.

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Kelsey Mills helps her husband navigate the newly installed ramp at his boyhood home.

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Travis Mills rides in the back of a Jeep during the homecoming parade on Thursday, Oct. 4. Mills, his wife, Kelsey, and their 1-year-old daughter, Chloe, were the grand marshals of Vassar High School's homecoming parade.

    Carlos Osorio / AP

    Julie Best, a friend of Travis Mills, cheers as he rides in the homecoming parade.

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    250 comments

    It's enough to bring tears to your eyes, and make you ask yourself, why do we as humanity continue to put our loved ones and ourselves through wars like this? Bless that family.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: afghanistan, war, military, conflict, us-news, disability, vassar, amputee, travis-mills

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