The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, with Todd Domerese

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, with Todd Domerese

Episode 196:

Alvis “Todd” Domerese was born and raised in Michigan. In 1998, at the age of 23, he joined the Army as an infantryman. In his fifteen years in the Army, he served with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; served with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and served with the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He did a six-month long peacekeeping deployment in Kosovo in 2000, a year-long combat deployment to Sadr City, Iraq in 2004, and a year-long combat deployment to the Helmand Providence in Afghanistan in 2010.

On December 27, 2004, his vehicle was hit by two improvised explosive devices simultaneously. His gunner was killed instantly, his driver had his arm torn apart by shrapnel, and he had a large metal fragment go through his Kevlar helmet which caused a period of unconsciousness, a large complex scalp laceration, a linear skull fracture and swelling and bruising on his brain. He also had multiple shrapnel pieces embedded in his face that had to be surgically removed. After his injury, he changed his job to a water treatment specialist since he could no longer serve as an infantryman. Due to the physical and psychological injuries he sustained in Iraq, he was found to be 100% disabled and was medically retired as a staff sergeant on September 28, 2013, after serving 15 years, 2 months, and 14 days. Some of the disabilities he suffers from are severe post traumatic stress disorder, severe migraine headaches, and other residual effects from his moderate traumatic brain injury.

His awards include the air assault badge, the expert infantryman badge, the combat infantryman badge, the expert marksmanship badge, the Purple Heart medal, the Army Commendation medal (2), Army Achievement medal (6), Good Conduct medal (5), National Defense Service medal, Kosovo Campaign medal, Afghanistan Campaign medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service medal, Noncommissioned officer professional development ribbon (2), Army Service ribbon, Army Overseas Service ribbon (4), Afghanistan NATO medal, and the Kosovo NATO medal. He has been married to his wife Marti for 14 years and has two sons- Benjamin, age 9 and Joshua age, 5.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a national non-profit organization, serves US military personnel suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress
  • How the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has provided over $200 million to support the heroes in our military and their families
  • How the fund is building a series of treatment centers to assist service members suffering from traumatic brain injuries and are hoping to raise funds for their 9th center
  • Why the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is unique in that 100% of donations go directly toward the construction of their centers
  • How donors from all across the nation and all walks of life have contributed to the success of the fund
  • How spreading their message and raising funds for new centers is the most important part of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund's current mission
  • How Todd himself was assisted by Intrepid when working through his own recovery from his traumatic brain injury
  • What you can do to donate to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and why helping spread their message is critically important to the organization's success

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