John Peck (sergeant)
John Peck | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Birth name | John Peck |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Marine Corps |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Purple Heart (x2) |
John Peck is an American Marine sergeant who lost both his legs and arms during a mission in Afghanistan in 2010. He lost both legs and one arm when an Improvised explosive device he stepped on exploded; while recovering in the hospital, an infection forced amputation of his remaining arm. He successfully underwent a ground-breaking bilateral arm transplant in August 2016.[1]
Career
[edit]Military
[edit]John Peck was awarded the Purple Heart on two occasions; first for serious injuries sustained in Iraq, and again when he was catastrophically wounded in Afghanistan. He suffered a traumatic brain injury when an IED exploded underneath his truck in Iraq in 2007, leaving him with a lengthy recovery period. In 2010, Peck re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and deployed to Afghanistan.[2]
In May of 2010, an IED explosion resulted in the loss of both of Peck’s legs and one of his arms.[3] Infection led to the amputation of his remaining arm, making him the third surviving quadruple-amputee from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.[4]
In August of 2016, after two years on the waiting list, John underwent a 14-hour, double arm transplant surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.[5] He is the second quadruple-amputee from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to get a double arm transplant.[5]
Post military
[edit]Peck wrote a book, Rebuilding Sergeant Peck: How I Put Body and Soul Back Together After Afghanistan, that was released on May 7, 2019. Also a documentary was made about him.[6]
In 2021, Our Life released a documentary, The Man with Another Man's Arms, following Peck's recovery from bilateral arm transplant on YouTube.[7] The video received over 5,000,000 views within its first year. He was also named Military Times Veteran of the Year for 2021.[3][8]
Bibliography
[edit]- Rebuilding Sergeant Peck: How I Put Body and Soul Back Together After Afghanistan. Skyhorse Publishing, 2019. ISBN 1510740651
References
[edit]- ^ White, Peter (April 6, 2019). "U.S. Marine Sergeant John Peck To Be The Subject Of Barcroft-Produced Doc For Viacom's Channel 5".
- ^ "'I've Emerged as a Stronger and More Empathetic Human Being'". vfw.org. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ a b Shane III, Leo (2021-08-25). "Despite catastrophic injury, Veteran of the Year John Peck has persevered — and inspired". Military Times. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "John Peck, Bilateral Arm Transplant - Brigham and Women's Hospital". www.brighamandwomens.org.
- ^ a b "Marine vet who received double arm transplant to deliver 1st pitch at Boulders game". lohud.com.
- ^ "How One Marine Lost His Limbs and Rebuilt His Life". June 24, 2019.
- ^ The Man With Another Mans Arms | Our Life, 2 July 2021, retrieved 2022-04-13
- ^ "Marine Who Lost All Four Limbs Receives Double Arm Transplant So He Could Hold Fiancée's Hand". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
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