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“Brian, thanks for being a REAL hero!” -Rowdy Gaines, 3-Time Olympic Gold Medalist “Brian paid a terrible price for freedom,but no price has proven to be too great for a wounded warrior with a heart for his country. Brian’s message is one of hope and God’s protection.” -Dr. M. David Roever, Roever and Associates “The Fleming’s agree that the experience that brought them here help put everything in perspective.” -David McLemore, The Dallas Morning News “Our loved ones... The Lord alerts them to pray and he did for Brian...” -Dr. Pat Robertson, The 700 Club “Brian’s life and witness is an answer to prayer. Betty and I thank him for sharing so effectively.” - James Robison, LIFE Today “It is humbling and inspiring to see the sacrifice.” -Operation Outdoors ESPN2 “Brian is a most inspirational individual and I was captivated by his story.” -Allen Wronowski, Vice President, The PGA of America “One of the most mature and dedicated young men I have ever met, Brian is a model for young and old alike. He demonstrates the power of faith and purpose to overcome the trials and challenges that life brings.” - Ken Dawson, Voice America Radio, Houston, TX. “A fascinating character. To me, he’s an American hero!” -Bill Rogan, KNUS Radio, 104.3 Denver, CO. “I have had the honor and privilege of working with Brian since 2007. He has shown distinct character and a high sense of work ethic. I highly recommend him!” -Matthew D. Roever, M.A. Vice President, Roever Learning and Resource Center

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As soldiers heal, families couldn't be closer 12:03 AM CST on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 By DAVID McLEMORE / The Dallas Morning News SAN ANTONIO – Good news comes only in small bits. A moment of progress in physical therapy. A day when an amputated limb seems less awkward, a burned face less pHis wife, Jamie, also 22, sits close by. She keeps her eyes on him as he flexes his hands, both encased in black compression gloves that help heal his burned flesh. He's one of more than 2,500 GIs wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan who have been treated at Brooke Army since Sept. 11, 2001. ERICH SCHLEGEL / DMN Thanks to a group that provides military families a place to stay near loved ones undergoing medical care, Brian and Jamie Fleming are together as he recovers from burns received in a suicide attack in Afghanistan. The Flemings had been married just three months when Sgt. Fleming deployed to Afghanistan in March with the 10th Mountain Division. During a routine patrol along Highway 1 near Kandahar on July 24, a suicide bomber attacked Sgt. Fleming's Humvee. It was the second time he'd been blown up. He walked away from the first, which occurred shortly after he arrived when his vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device. He wasn't so lucky this time. The suicide bomber's van carried two artillery shells – one a white phosphorous incendiary device – that the driver ignited in front of Sgt. Fleming's vehicle. The blast knocked the Humvee 100 meters off the road, throwing him and two others GIs out. As he came to, he saw the skin was burned off the back of his hands, and flash burns from the phosphorous left his chest and neck with second- and third- degree burns. "I really don't remember anything about the explosion except coming to, seeing my hands and walking toward the medevac," he said. As he walked, he passed the bomber's charred leg. Three days later, he was flown to the BAMC burn center, where doctors began rebuilding his hands with skin grafts. He attends physical therapy three times a week to rebuild the functionality of his hands. "The Army called saying he'd been burned, and I just freaked out," Mrs. Fleming said. "Brian called from Germany to say he was being sent to Texas, so I packed up and started driving." High demand She wound up at Fort Sam Houston at Fisher House, one of 35 nationwide "comfort homes" created by the private-sector Fisher Foundation to provide military families a place to stay to be close to loved ones undergoing medical care. The steady flow of wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan has increased demand. Two Fisher Houses with family-style quarters provide a room and place of refuge, free of charge, for 20 people. Both are at capacity – with a waiting list of 40 for each. Last year, the Army opened its second amputee care clinic at Brooke Army. A 65,000-square-foot Center for the Intrepid rehabilitation center will open in January. A month later, two larger Fisher Houses that will provide room for 44 more residents will open. For Sgt. Fleming and his wife, the reunion at BAMC, where she set up residence in the Fisher House, made things better. But the anxiety hasn't diminished. "Really, I'd have to say it's been pretty hard the whole time," she said. "It's not just his wounds. It's everything else." Army doctors predict his recovery will take one to two years. He's also experiencing episodes of memory loss and occasional confusion – indications of post-traumatic stress syndrome. "We know we're a long way from being totally OK. But he's here and we have the future to work on it," Mrs. Fleming said. "We haven't had a lot of time together. This will be our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. Right now, I don't want to be away from him at all." First time away For Air Force Master Sgt. Shawn Roberts, 40, and his wife, Jacki, it will be the first time they've been away from family for the holidays after 15 years of marriage. In August, their life with two daughters and a grandchild was turned upside down when Mrs. Roberts learned she had cervical cancer. Physicians at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he's assigned, recommended that she be sent to Brooke Army for treatment. "Jacki's on an emotional roller-coaster right now. She has her good days and her bad," Sgt. Roberts said. "So we just take it day by day. Usually, we have the big family Thanksgiving dinner. I do all the cooking. This year, it's just us. Whatever we have, we'll share it." Like many of the military families at BAMC, they have little time to plan for the holidays. Their time and attention is focused on therapy schedules and the ups and downs of the healing process. But the Flemings and Robertses agree that the experiences that brought them here help put everything in perspective. "Everyone here has a story and everyone comes in thinking they have the worst war story," Sgt. Fleming said. "But there's always someone worse off. And you start seeing that you're not alone. You start seeing that you can't grow a new hand or leg, but you can get better." Sgt. Fleming joined the Army out of high school in Jackson, Mich. "I really felt I had an obligation to stand with all those soldiers who came before. I don't have any regrets about what I did," he said. "But I got a good dose of reality in Afghanistan. It was like a gift. It showed me early on what's important in life." Holidays at a military hospital can be lonely affairs. Those able to travel take leave to be with family. Those who can't must find celebration where they can. Brooke Army's commander throws a big dinner at the hospital, where staff and patients come together. All the trimmings At Fisher House, residents are welcome to prepare a feast of their own, said Inga Godfrey, manager of the two Fisher Houses at Fort Sam Houston. "We want people to think of this as their family home," she said. "I leave it up to them how they want to celebrate, but we often have a Thanksgiving dinner here, as well as birthdays, weddings and other celebrations." Mrs. Godfrey has been with the Fisher Houses since the first one at Fort Sam Houston opened in 1992. She has watched as a seemingly unending line of wounded soldiers and their families have come to stay and begin healing. "I see these young people come through in their pain and they become family," Mrs. Godfrey said. "We laugh with them and we cry with them. I've had my own sorrows in life, but seeing how they deal with their problems, they make me stronger." For Sgt. Roberts, the trip to Texas has been an eye-opener. "Sometimes, you just need that tap on the shoulder to make you know what's important," he said. "When we see these kids back from Iraq, the amputees and burn cases, you know you're not alone. And we know if they can beat what they've been through, we can beat cancer." Mrs. Roberts, tired after her cancer treatment, weeps softly as she talks about missing Thanksgiving. "It's our first Thanksgiving away from my daughters, and it's just hard to be apart," she said. "I'd like to have an old- fashioned Thanksgiving, but right now, as long as I'm with Shawn, I'm OK." Sgt. Roberts, however, has a different idea. With Mrs. Godfrey's help, he's going to give whomever is around the Fisher House a Thanksgiving dinner they won't forget. There will be turkey, sweet potato soufflé, greens and rolls, and enough pies to ruin anyone's diet. "Thanksgiving isn't about the food, it's being thankful for what you have. And I'm most thankful to have my wife with me. And to meet some of these wonderful soldiers and their families," he said. "I don't want anyone here not to have something to celebrate." ainful. For the military families gathered a long way from home at the two Fisher Houses near Brooke Army Medical Center, the simplicity of everyday life takes on special meaning at Thanksgiving. During this holiday, as America feasts on turkey and dressing, then waits impatiently before the big-screen TV for the game to begin, the folks at Fisher House are thankful just to be alive and together. Everything else is secondary. "I'm just glad to be breathing," said Sgt. Brian Fleming, 22. "There were many times that wasn't a certainty."