Major Ed Pulido (Ret.)
Challenge, Triumph and Change
In a matter of seconds, under a broiling Iraqi noon sun on Aug. 17, 2004, Major Ed Pulido of Edmond, Okla., saw his life take a 180-degree turn. He was thrust into first battling for his own survival and then dealing with how to rebuild himself.
Having completed three separate tours of duty in Iraq, Pulido was serving a one-year stint with the U.S. Army Reserve's 75th Division to train new members of the Iraqi army. As he was driving an SUV through what is known as "IED Alley," traveling at 50-60 miles per hour. After making it through the crowded streets of Baghdad, the SUV hit an IED (improvised explosive device), that exploded under him. The vehicle, unprotected by armor plating, is referred to as a "soft target." The enemy knows that this type of vehicle often carries high-ranking officials, making the situation even more dangerous. The group was part of a seven-vehicle convoy going from Tadji Military Training Base northwest of Baghdad to the Kirkuk Military Training Base near the Iranian border when they were ambushed.
What magnified the horror for Pulido was that he was conscious throughout his ordeal, and could see the damage, as if it was in slow motion. The blast blew the hand guards off Pulido’s M-16 rifle, shattered all the windows, leaving fragments of the windshield in his face. He remembers that when he looked at his leg, he knew it was destroyed.
He estimated that it was 47 minutes passed before the men could hear a helicopter approaching. "God's coming to get me," Pulido said to himself, and then thinking “As I lay on the battlefield, all I could think of was what will be done to help my family?”
Pulido still relives the scene with gas coming from the SUV, and his non-commissioned officers protecting him and keeping the insurgents away. Col. Kenneth Stone, in the passenger seat, said later that Pulido never lost control, but gradually brought the vehicle to a stop and saved the others' lives. Stone pulled Pulido from the debris onto the 128-degree pavement. The minutes, the seconds ticked off in his head, even to this day. Pulido said that once the helicopter arrived, he was transported to emergency hospital care 56 minutes later. It was there that his bleeding stopped, and he knew he would make it. Luckily, the SUV was carrying a combat medic from Nebraska who provided him with mental as well as physical support.
Pulido suffered a broken leg, arm, knee, and pelvis; he had pieces of shrapnel lodged in his abdomen and arm and still carries at least one piece that surgeons could not remove. That remaining piece of metal led to the infection that necessitated the removal of his left leg. According to Colonel Stone, Pulido saved his life. If you listen to Pulido, he would tell the reverse. So, Pulido provided some clarification.
"I saved his life because I was able to put the vehicle to a complete stop; he saved my life because even though he had a concussion, he worked to get me out,” said Pulido. “He was able to get the seat belt off and get my leg unlodged, which helped because he didn't want that vehicle to burn me. The air bag deployed and pinned my arms on the steering wheel. If I had turned the wheel, we would have rolled. Hanging onto that wheel actually saved my life because it kept the vehicle straight."
Once in a hospital bed in Baghdad, Pulido received his Purple Heart from General Petraeus and entered into Phase 2, the Challenge.
He was transported to the regional Army military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany, then to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and finally to Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, where he received treatment to control infections in his knee.
But, the damage was too great to contain, and 52 days after the attack, surgeons told him they would have to amputate his left leg. He would undergo 17 hours of surgery and six blood transfusions. He would spend 60 days in the hospital before seeing sunlight, and his weight would plummet from 195 to 118 pounds.
During his recovery, Pulido was visited by Gen. David Petraeus, the Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, who awarded Pulido the Purple Heart formally. In a more formal ceremony later at Brooke Army Medical Center, Pulido was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Joint Service Achievement Medal by Gen. Richard Cody, vice chief of Staff Army. “There are now over 33,000 injured with more than 24,000 dependents,” said Pulido. “My spirits were lifted up as never before when I met General (Peter) Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He met me at Brooke Army Medical Center when I was in the transition stage of recovery. He said ‘Always remember that on that day you did not lose a leg. On that day you sacrificed it for your country and for all in this nation to be free.’ ”
Nearly three years later, Pulido is well into Phase 3, as he works to effect change as staunch advocate for individuals with disabilities, counseling other soldiers in Oklahoma who have had life-changing injuries through a program he helped develop, Heroes Helping Heroes or Heroes Support Network.
Pulido began working with The United Way of Central Oklahoma, and became the vice president of Community Investment and Research. He also served as Community Counseling Center Market and Public Relations director, as Early Head Start Community Partnership coordinator, and as Father Outreach coordinator and Therapeutic Nursery Program administrator.
He was involved in providing counseling services for victims of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing and was the United Way staff chair on the Coordinating Resource Committee following the May 3, 1999, tornadoes in Oklahoma City. “We're here to make a difference,” said Pulido. “We want people to see how important it is to invest in our veterans."
Major Pulido isn’t bashful to lift his left pant leg to show off a $52,000 titanium leg, which allows him to water ski, snow ski and run 100 meters in 20 seconds. The prosthesis, designed by Hanger prosthetics and Orthotics, permits him to walk with a normal gait. A computer programmed device constantly monitors pressure on his foot and adjusts a hydraulic cylinder inside to provide stability and safety.
In retrospect, he mulls over his thoughts and feelings about the whole experience. "For me it wasn't scary; it was more of a challenge. Honestly, it was my will to do my job just like firemen or policemen. I'm adamant about the fact that we just do our job. To take the fire hose away from the fireman just wouldn't sound right. I was a trained soldier, so for me, I never had any qualms about it. And I think you'd find that from a lot of members that are serving; they miss their families. We all do, but we know there is a mission to be accomplished. For me specifically it was September 11. I believe peace was thrown out the window on that day. I don't care whether it's Afghanistan, Iraq, whatever. I don't want our service members there any more than anyone else, but it's a bad place in the world.”
Pulido is no stranger to military life. His father, who received U.S. citizenship through military service, was wounded in Panama during "Operation Just Cause." His younger brother was injured in "Desert Storm."
Combat duty, however, was a new concept for his wife, Karen, and not one she understood. "She has a different perspective, and I respect her viewpoint. I was gone two and a half years. That's a long time," he said.
Pulido said that the greatest moment of his life with Kaitlin, besides her being born, was the day he took her to kindergarten. A flag flew over Deer Creek Elementary School, where he spoke at the Veteran's Day event. Afterwards, she said, ‘Daddy you're my hero.’
“I cried that day because I had asked God to give me a second chance to be able to take Kaitlin to school, and I was put back on this earth to see that moment," he said. "She told me, ‘Daddy, I'll be OK at school; you don't have to cry.’ Of course, it embarrassed her, but it meant a lot to me."
The Pulidos celebrated the birth of a second daughter, Kinsley, in 2006, and together with Kaitlin are recipients of scholarships from the Folds of Honor Foundation.
“This gift is an investment in the education of my beautiful children,” said Pulido. “I was motivated to join the Foundation and work to help other families in need. Together we are making a difference in the lives of families of our fallen and our wounded.” Pulido said that he had experienced his darkest moments, thinking about giving up when he realized that he had lost a part of him.
“It was true hopelessness,” he said. “Then I got well wishes and support from lots of people, and that's what's uplifting; you've got to hit rock bottom because there's only one way up. For the first time in my life, I was broken down. Even when I got hit, it was not like losing a limb. “For forty-some days I struggled to keep it, and then the struggle was gone. That's when I reached that--wow, my life is over. That's what I said. Two days later some of my colleagues, a triple amputee, one with a messed up arm, came to visit me in the hospital. All these guys in those early stages taught me the greatest gift, and that's when you're recovered. “They told me, 'you gotta get back. We sat in that bed and we felt these things, but at one point we decided we're going to succeed. And I did that, and I thought that was incredible. Seven days later I was walking on crutches. To me that was huge.”
Pulido is a native of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, where legends says the town was named after an explorer awakened to the scenery and cried, “Oh, so beautiful!” For Pulido, beauty out of the darkness was seeing the sunlight outside his hospital room. “The greatest thing was that the day after the amputation was a sunny fall day after weeks of fog and rain," he said.
Returning to that awful day that he lay wounded, Pulido focused on his family, a wife and a little girl he feared he might never see again. He thought of what he wanted to teach her about life and prayed that he would get that chance. He did get that chance—and it came in the form of another little girl, Kinsley.
"I want to teach our girls that they live in an era that's different from mine,” he said. “I didn't have the same opportunities that my girls have now I just want them to be humble about the fact that not all of these things are easy to get. They're not free, they take sacrifice, and they take work and dedication. More importantly, I want them to see that we have a wonderful country; and in order to make our country continue to be the best it can be, we have to volunteer, we have to contribute.”
Pulido, who has served 18 years in the military before he was medically retired on May 16, 2005, He said the “cause” of Patriot Golf Day is now of a generation of veterans. He said that he is grateful to Major Dan Rooney for the opportunity to be called his “wingman,” and for the opportunity to be executive director for the Folds of Honor Foundation.
“While it was hard for me to leave The United Way, this opportunity is what I dreamed about while I was in the hospital,” said Pulido. “Furthermore, I think it will make the important connection that this foundation provides employment opportunities for vets with disabilities, but more importantly it understands the needs of those who return.
“Dan has been very good to me and knowing that the foundation gave my two girls scholarships brings a great deal of emotion to me. I am eternally grateful to Dan for being my boss, but more importantly, being a friend.
“The PGA of America and USGA,” said Pulido, “are making sure that we never forget the sacrifices of so many.”