On September 11, 2004, three years to the day after the 9/11 terror attacks, a 107mm rocket screamed out of the sky and changed Senior Airman Kolfage’s life forever. Kolfage was at Balad Air Base, Iraq on his second deployment when he woke up after working a night shift. He left his barracks to get some water, and as he was walking, the base came under attack. The first rocket landed 3 feet from Airman Kolfage. There was a deafening roar, and in an instant, both of Kolfage’s legs & his right hand were gone.
Kolfage joined the Air Force after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on America that took almost 3000 lives. He wanted to serve so that an attack like that would never happen again. Kolfage was originally stationed at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. When the call came for 13 Airmen to go to Balad, Iraq, 350 volunteered. Brian wasn’t chosen. Kolfage desperately wanted to get in the fight, so he jokingly told one of the newer men on his base who was selected that he would probably get hit by a rocket & lose his legs. The guy had a kid back home so he changed his mind & Brian took his place. Two weeks later, Kolfage would be hit by the rocket.
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The Daily Caller caught up to Brian for an interview. Kolfage explains what happened that fateful day, and how he never let it get him down.
Via Daily Caller:
“The Purple Heart recipient who started the GoFundMe page to fund President Donald Trump’s border wall shared his story with The Daily Caller.
Brian Kolfage, a U.S. Air Force Security Forces senior airman, talked about his life-changing injury that occurred when his airbase fell under rocket attack while he was deployed in Iraq in 2004.
RELATED: Triple-Amputee Vet Just Issued Statement On Wall Fund – It’s Happening!
Kolfage lost an arm and two legs, but hasn’t let his injuries get in the way of his life – so much so, you can catch him snowboarding, scuba diving, water skiing and now raising money for Trump’s border wall.”
WATCH:
To get an idea what it’s like to have a 107mm rocket explode near you, here’s a short video. In the video, you can hear warning sirens before the rocket lands. When the rocket landed near Kolfage, there was no warning.
In an interview with Warrior SOS, Kolfage explained how his injuries changed his life, and how he didn’t let it get him down:
“Before my injuries I was a little arrogant, and cocky sometimes. If you would have told me I was going to lose my legs and hand the next day I would have told you that I’d rather be dead, and swore by it! But once it happened my body went into survival mode, and I had no control. My entire way of thinking changed instantly, and I didn’t care. In fact, when I was laying on the ground bleeding to death I told my friend Cortez that “I knew my legs are gone. I don’t care. Just get me home. . . .”
All my family was pretty shocked, as you could imagine. The Air Force sent chaplains, the whole nine yards. They were preparing for my death, and none of the docs were too optimistic.
On September 11, 2004, one thing didn’t go my way that day. But a million other things did. My life is great. I have a beautiful wife, family, dogs, bought a house on my own, finish my degree in architecture next year, what couldn’t be good about this?”
I’ve known Kolfage for several years and worked with him on a few of his projects. Not once has he felt sorry for himself, or wanted pity. He’s one of the most outgoing, positive people I know, despite losing his legs & arm. He’s a hard charger who when he sets his mind to do something, he does it. There is no “fail” with him. There is only “overcome & succeed.” He’s a true inspiration to veterans, and millions of Americans.
Here’s Brian’s “Alive Day” video. “Alive Days” are where wounded veterans & others celebrate cheating death. This is a must watch if you’ve never seen it. If you don’t tear up, there might be something wrong with you.
Brian Kolfage alive day from Brian on Vimeo.
Share this if you love what Airman Kolfage is doing for his country!
Here’s what you can do to help Airman Kolfage get the wall built:
To donate to Kolfage’s wall fund, go to the official GoFundMe account HERE
SEND CHECK DONATIONS TO (This is listed on the official GoFundMe account so you can verify):
Make Payable to: WeFund The Wall
Brian Kolfage
4833 Front St. Unit B-158
Castle Rock, CO 80104
The official wall fundraiser site is at www.wefundthewall.com
Follow Airman Kolfage on Twitter HERE
Like his verified Facebook page HERE
To help Kolfage personally:
Purchase coffee from his company by going to www.militarygradecoffee.com
Follow Military Grade Coffee on Instagram
Follow Military Grade Coffee on Twitter
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This article was written by Jeff Rainforth for RightWing.news and originally appeared here. It was republished & edited with permission.