Sergeant Jeremy ‘Fr8Train’ Wolfsteller Homecoming Party
Saturday, December 10th, 2005
Insurgents in Iraq killed a lot of soldiers. The insurgents tried to kill Sergeant Jeremy ‘Fr8Train’ Wolfsteller but they failed. Not from a lack of trying though, he was shot on active patrol through his hip and the bullet bounced around inside his body like a pinball machine. This magic bullet fractured his pelvic bone, sacrum and lower back. It also punctured one of his lungs.
As Sergeant Jeremy ‘Fr8Train’ Wolfsteller lied dying on the battlefield, he used his last breath to yell for help. “… and seconds later my platoon sergeant was standing over me yelling for guys to come pull me out of harm’s way.” An excerpt from a letter that Sergeant Jeremy ‘Fr8Train’ Wolfsteller wrote.
Last Saturday we celebrated Sergeant Jeremy ‘Fr8Train’ Wolfsteller life. It was something I’ve been waiting a very long to do. The evening was magical; a night I will never forget.
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'Don't ever forget the wounded. Always support the troops. Whether you hate the war or not, they still need your care.'
Julie Nelson
FROM: By Teri Kelsh\Sun Newspapers
A year after enlisting in the Army, Jeremy Wolfsteller was deployed to fight a war in Iraq. And his mom was nervous.
"Actually, it was hell. That's all I can say," said Julie Nelson of St. Louis Park. "I'm extremely proud of him but that first year was just terrible."
Wolfsteller made it through his first tour of duty and spent a year at home before being deployed again to Iraq.
"When he left the second time I just had a bad feeling," Nelson said.
Three months into Wolfsteller's second tour of duty, on June 25, 2005, the 27-year-old sergeant was critically wounded in a gun battle near the Syrian boarder. He was airlifted to Baghdad when Nelson got the call that he had been shot.
"When I got the call he wasn't stable," Nelson said. "I waited five hours before I got another call saying they had stabilized him."
Wolfsteller was flown to Germany within the next 24 hours. Another 24 hours later he was flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His mother was at his bedside immediately.
For the next three months, the only thing doctor's could do for Wolfsteller was keep him laying flat on his bed, hoping his shattered body would repair itself enough to where he could sit up. Eventually he did.
"Looking at his X-rays, the doctors call it a miracle," said Nelson, who stayed vigilant at her son's bedside. "His left leg has severe nerve damage. He'll never fully recover because of the massive fractures in his body, but he can walk with a cane now and he has a brace on his leg.
"He used to be an avid skateboarder and if I know my son, he will be again. He's determined."
In Nelson's spare time, when she wasn't helping with her son's rehabilitation, she was planning for his homecoming.
As of press time, Wolfsteller was scheduled to arrive in Minneapolis Monday, Dec. 5, for a 30-day convalescent leave. He will have to return to Walter Reed Army Medical Center until his tour of duty is up in March or until he receives a medical discharge.
In the meantime, Nelson, her family and friends are planning a welcome home party and benefit for Wolfsteller for 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the VFW in Hopkins. They are also planning a surprise hero's welcome for him and asking people to join them at 12:30 p.m. to line the sidewalks along Sixth Avenue and Main Street in Hopkins, wave flags and wear yellow ribbons.
A portion of the proceeds from the Dec. 10 benefit will go towards ongoing medical care for Wolfsteller and Operation Second Chance, Inc., a nonprofit organization helping support wounded soldiers. The founder of Operation Second Chance, Cindy McGrew, as well as local and state officials will be at the VFW to honor Wolfsteller.
While the party is meant to be a celebration for Wolfsteller, it will also be a time to remember some of his fellow soldiers who did not make it home. Army medics Eric Woods and Hobie Bradford, responsible for saving Wolfsteller when he was wounded were both killed two weeks later. Woods' family from Iowa is planning to attend Wolfsteller's homecoming.
"It's going to be great, but there's going to be a lot of emotions," Nelson said. "It was really hard on Jeremy when he found out [about Woods and Bradford]. I couldn't tell him until six weeks after it happened. It was the first time I'd seen him break down."
Wolfsteller's homecoming party will continue at 6 p.m. at the Hopkins Tavern on Main, 819 Mainstreet.
"It's been really hard but I don't regret his decision, and he doesn't regret his decision. Just to have him be home," Nelson paused, "it's hard to think of anything else."
But Nelson says there is one thing she would like other people to think about, "Don't ever forget the wounded. Always support the troops. Whether you hate the war or not, they still need your care."
Soldier support
The following are a few nonprofit organizations helping U.S. soldiers and information on how you can contact them to help:
Operation Second Chance
Goal: To provide support for soldiers and Marines while they recover at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and further assist them when they transition either back to duty or back to civilian life.
Wounded Warriors Hospital Fund
Goal: To provide quality-of-life items for soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines wounded or injured in Iraq and helping them return to civilian life.
Adopt a Soldier
Goal: Support the wounded, injured, and ill troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital. Efforts will coordinate the receipt of care packages sent to the hospitalized troops.
Information: www.adoptasoldier.us
Operation Minnesota Nice
Goal: Adopting soldiers abroad to send them monthly care packages.
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Wounded MN Soldier Returns Home
FROM: Jason DeRusha (WCCO)
A Minnesota soldier is home for the first time in a year after his second tour in Iraq was cut short by a bullet.
Army Sgt. Jeremy Wolfsteller was hit June 25 during a firefight in Tal Afar, Iraq. The bullet shattered his hip and punctured his lung.
Wolfsteller, who spent months on bed rest, arrived back in Minnesota Monday.
Julie Nelson welcomed her son home last year after his first tour, but this tour ended quite differently.
"I'm one of the fortunate ones to have my son alive," Wolfsteller's mother said.
Wolfsteller still carries a bullet in his shoulder and walks with a cane.
"It wasn't a good day, but a day I'll remember forever, probably," Wolfsteller said. "The impact of it was so enormous, my whole body kind of shook, and I wasn't sure if a bomb went off or what next to me. All I knew was I couldn't feel the lower half of my body from the waist down."
Two men pulled Wolfsteller to safety. They were both killed two weeks later by a roadside bomb.
"I live life to the fullest for the soldiers who are not here," Wolfsteller said. "Those two guys did save my life, and now they're not here."
After three months of bed rest and rehab, Wolfsteller was able to stand. He was visited by President Bush.
"He took the time to come in and see the soldiers and listen to what had happened to them," Wolfsteller said. "I was pretty impressed."
Wolfsteller was awarded a Purple Heart. Now he's home and optimistic about what's happening in Iraq.
"Things are turning around, and they're very thankful for what we're doing," Wolfsteller said.
Wolfsteller says he can't feel the bullet, and he also can't feel his right leg. The muscle isn't damaged, and the leg still works.
The sergeant will be home in St. Louis Park, Minn. for 30 days, then return to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for more treatment.
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Jason DeRusha's Blog:
Wounded In Action
Dec 5, 2005 9:30 pm
It was a real honor to talk with Sgt. Jeremy Wolfsteller and his family tonight. Jeremy was shot by an insurgent during a 2 1/2 hour firefight in Talafar on June 25th. Actually, Jeremy says, he was shot within the first seven or eight minutes.
His family is holding a welcome home party and benefit fundraiser on Saturday at the VFW in Hopkins. It's from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. at 100 Shady Oak Road.
Jeremy's an avid skateboarder, he skates at 3rd Lair Skatepark under the nickname "FR8 Train." He met Tony Hawk while he was in Walter Reed Medical Center. He's bummed that he can't get on the board because of his injury, but not too bummed. He is alive.
I wanted to share a couple other things that Sgt. Wolfsteller said during the interview, that I didn't have time to get into the TV story.
"The soldiers that are there right now are making a huge difference. There are people who may say otherwise. They are probably civilians who haven't been over there twice like I have."
"You don't really see it-- its still bad over there- but what is happening over there will make a big difference for those people in the future. There are wonderful things going on."
This was in the story, but it bears repeating: "I live life to the fullest for the soldiers who are not here."
His mom, Julie Nelson, told me, that the welcome home is "bittersweet. He's not the same obviously, and it'll be awhile if ever. I'm so proud of him, I have no regrets about him being a soldier; he has no regrets, whatsoever."
"He's a really strong person- he will come back. He'll never be 100 percent the same, but he understands that."
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Wounded Minnesota soldier makes a holiday homecoming
FROM: KSTP.com -
An injured soldier from Hopkins is home celebrating his survival from being shot in a gun battle in Iraq in June.Sergeant Jeremy Wolfsteller is learning how to walk again. A bullet hit his pelvis, then ricocheted through his body causing life-threatening internal injuries.On Saturday, his family held a homecoming party for him, to which other vets, friends, dignitaries and Governor Tim Pawlenty came. Also, in the gathering was the woods family. Chuck and Jan Woods' son Eric was one of two soldiers who worked frantically to save Jeremy when he was shot. Two weeks later, both were killed in action in Iraq.Wolfsteller will be home for 30 days and then return to Washington for more therapy. He served three years in the Army was was working on reconnaissance when he was attacked by insurgents.
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FROM Aaron Blake, Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
October 8, 2005 MNSOLDIERS1008
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Jeremy Wolfsteller's many visitors read like an award-show guest list -- Drew Carey, Shaquille O'Neal, John Elway and Stevie Nicks, the guy who does the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants. Wolfsteller, a skateboarding enthusiast, even got to meet Tony Hawk.
But his mother says nothing compares to meeting the person Wolfsteller calls his "overall boss" -- President Bush.
Sgt. Wolfsteller, 27, of St. Louis Park, was one of two injured Minnesota soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington who got to meet their commander in chief and First Lady Laura Bush on Wednesday. The other was Specialist Adam Standfuss, 23, of Danube. Both were injured in Iraq.
"We all know he cares," Wolfsteller said. "But when he can actually be there, it really helps out a lot."
His mother, Julie Nelson, who was present for the visit, said that though she's not a Bush supporter, she was impressed.
"He did seem very genuine and actually looked like he had some little tears in his eyes," Nelson said. "He gave me just the hugest, tightest hug and a kiss on my check. He really did seem genuine."
Standfuss and his family could not be reached Friday. But according to an online journal updating friends and family on Standfuss' progress, everyone in the room started crying when Bush presented Standfuss with a presidential coin.
Standfuss was seriously injured in mid-September when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle, according to the journal.
Wolfsteller was shot through his pelvis on June 25 while lying on the ground during a patrol in Tel Afar, Iraq. After returning to the United States, he had to lie motionless on his back for 12 weeks. Three weeks after finally being able to sit up, he is undergoing physical and occupational therapy and learning how to walk again.
Now that he can stand, he will receive his Purple Heart on Nov. 5. A homecoming fundraiser for Dec. 10 in Hopkins is being planned.
