"Dancing with the Stars" winner J.R. Martinez has a new accolade to go along with his Mirror Ball trophy.
While visiting Fort Campbell, where the “Strike” Brigade he served with in Iraq is based, he was presented with a certificate naming him a Distinguished Member of the Regiment.
Philip Grey, reporting for the Leaf-Chronicle, says Martinez's entrance into the room was so low key, people weren’t sure if they should applaud. “He just seemed so much more like one of them and a lot less like a Hollywood ‘star,’” Grey writes, “…it was apparent that Martinez still spoke their language and shared their values.”
See his full talk: TheLeafChronicle.com.
Martinez was there to talk to fellow soldiers and their families about his experience on the hit ABC show, but his main focus was on military families, overcoming the wounds he received while on duty, and his new mission in life.
For 45 minutes, he spoke to the group in the same Fort Campbell dining hall he had sat in 10 years ago when he was staring his military career, before he was severely burned while serving in Iraq in 2003. He spoke of duty, honor and how he continues to represent the military with a new weapon and in a new uniform ... his words and his scars. “That’s what I wear and that’s what I use every single day to be effective and carry out my mission,” he said.
After his talk, Martinez reportedly stayed around for hours, meeting the crowd, signing autographs and just hanging out. Capt. Colby Krug brought his wife and six-week-old daughter to the event. He told the Leaf-Chronicle he was there because he wanted to thank Martinez. “It’s pretty amazing in my eyes,” Capt. Krug said of the example Martinez is setting for other soldiers.
As for that certificate his fellow soldiers gave him, Grey reports that Martinez will place the award, in its “standard Army-issue frame,” right above his Mirror Ball trophy.
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