President praises amputee back in combat

President praises amputee back in combat

By Sommer Woodward
PRYOR DAILY TIMES (PRYOR, Okla.)
PRYOR, Okla. — A wounded Marine’s determination to get back to the front lines caught the attention of the president.In a March 19 speech to the Pentagon, President George Bush praised Marine Gunnery Sergeant William “Spanky” Gibson, a 1989 Pryor High School graduate.Gibson’s leg was amputated after he was shot while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm’s way in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006.

Injured troops cut new path

Injured troops cut new path
By Bob Cohn
March 6, 2008

Teree Murphree (left) accompanied son Spc. Jesse Murphree (center) on Pennsylvania's Liberty Mountain for his return to skiing. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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FAIRFIELD, Pa. — Spc. E-4 Jesse Murphree returned to the slopes on Saturday morning. His grandfather recorded it all on a video camera and his mother followed down the hill on skis. Then she cried.



Until he enlisted in the Army two years ago, Spc. Murphree was a competitive snowboarder, one of those typical Colorado kids who first dons skis at age 6. Two days after Christmas while performing his duties as a gunner in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, his Humvee struck a roadside bomb. Spc. Murphree, 20, lost both legs.