Ep. 47 Marine To Double Amputee Police Officer-Matias‘ American Story

This podcast was recorded the week of the American withdrawl from Afghanistan.  You will hear many references to the events.

Matias Ferreira was born in Uruguay.  His parents were able to move the family to the United States for a better life.

Matias remembers the first time he saw a marine in Centennial Park.  The clean, crisp uniform and shiny medals made an impression on the young Matias.

Matias was in seventh grade on September 11, 2001.  He watched the events on television from his classroom.  Matias learned the concept of freedom.

Matias joined the marines after high school graduation.  He went to Parris Island, SC for boot camp.  Matias was over 6 feet tall and 145 pounds dripping wet.

Rigorous training followed boot camp.  Matias called Camp Geiger in N.C. home for a 11/2 months as he attended school of infantry, including a machine gun course.

Matias was assigned to the 1st batallion, 8th marines, 2nd division.  They had a year to train before being deployed to Afghanistan in September 2010.

Matias and his marines landed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan.  From there they went to their FOB (forward operating base) to patrol or post every day.

Matias' next move was to 7171, a big mountain top to oberserve the Taliban.

On January 21, 2011 the marines marched into a compound, Matias accompanied as part of the observation team.  He went onto a roof top 8 ft up.   Matias jumped from the roof to gather more equipment.  He landed on an unseen IED.  The explosion blew off both of Matias' legs below the knee.

The long road of recovery began:  Bagram Base in Afghanistan for a stabilizing surgery;  a second surgery in Landstuhl, Germany; and a final flight to Walter Reed Hospital.

Matias arrived to America with two amputated legs, a broken pelvis, and a shattered femur.  He stayed at Walter Reed until May 2012.

Six years later, Matias Ferreira became the first below the knee double amputee police officer.  He served on patrol for 11/2 years in Long Island, NY; transferred to midnight hours for 2 years; served on community outreach for 9 months; and now works at the police academy as an instructor.

Matias lives by the motto, "Life without limbs is limitless."  He has scuba dived, ran 1/2 marathons; jumped out of planes, practices jiu jitsu, and enjoys biking with this girlfriend.

You can find Matias on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/matias_n_ferreira/

Facebook: Matias Ferreira

Matias supports the following organizations:

Homes For Our Troops

Semper Fi Fund

Achilles International

 

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