Have you ever looked beyond the list of active Operation PAL participants? When our OpPAL participants tell us they no longer need cards of encouragement, we move them from the active list to the bottom section titled “Inactive Marines and Corpsmen.” Sometimes they send us updates, which we post for you.

We’d like to share an update we recently received on former OpPAL participant LCpl Josef.

A little background on Josef: Prior to his deployment in 2006, he received a smallpox vaccination that made him very ill, and after arriving in Iraq he became completely paralyzed. Fortunately doctors were able to treat him, and over the past four years he has regained most functionality. Sustaining strength is still a challenge, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing what he loves.

Though he is now medically retired from the Marine Corps, he still finds ways to support his fellow Marines. He helps Marine Parents pack care packages, and he has participated in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. every year since 2007. His paralysis limited him to the use of a hand cycle, which The Heart of a Marine Foundation helped him get, and Marine Parents was happy to sponsor his participation in the marathon. He also raises money for the Purple Heart Family Support outreach program, which brings hot meals to the hospitals in Bethesda and San Diego for wounded Marines and their families.

Just recently Joe celebrated a huge milestone. He married Natasha, whom he has known since high school, and a few of the Marine Parents crew were able to attend the ceremony!

If you’d like to send Joe and Natasha your wedding wishes, you can send them to the address below and we will forward them to the happy couple through August 31, 2010.

Joe & Natasha
c/o OperationPAL
P.O. Box 670328
Marietta, GA 30066

For more details on Joe’s recovery, visit his OpPAL page or check out the book “First One Home” to get the entire story. You can order the book from our EGA store.