Final Farewell: a tribute to Sgt. James Hackemer

(By Amber Woods) I’m honored to say that Sgt. James Hackemer was my friend.

He was also a decorated war veteran who lost both his legs in a roadside bombing during a second deployment to the war ridden country of Iraq in 2008.

Before he actually died last week, he had died twice before. Once in the battlefield after his military vehicle was hit with an explosive device and again on an operating room table. Both times, he was revived.

James’ return from war and his heroic recovery were the topic of much media buzz throughout the country over the past several years. After all, he was a living miracle.

I recall asking him about the huge welcome-home ceremony thrown in his honor. He jokingly told me to “google” him, knowing I would get hundreds of hits. He then laughed as he told me that he was “kind of a big deal” and that “people knew him.”

Turns out, both those things were true at the time and remain true now. [READ MORE]