Three individuals have been selected as honorary captains as part of the Wounded Warrior Project initiative at today's Maryland-Florida State game.
CHRISTOPHER TOEY
U.S. ARMY (RET.) ALIVE DAY: November 13, 2003
Christopher Toey served three and a half years in the US Army as an Airborne Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. While stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, Toey was wounded in a rocket attack. Shrapnel injured his foot and shattered the radius and radial head in his arm. After several surgeries, hardware was placed in his arm, which resulted in mobility issues. Toey is currently a state trooper in Frederick, Maryland and resides in Cumberland, Maryland.
JOE GRADY
U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.)
Joe Grady grew up in San Diego, California where he joined the Marine Corps following high school. After graduating from boot camp and the school of infantry, he was stationed in 29 Palms, California with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. He trained for six months before deploying to Fallujah, Iraq on July 4, 2005. After five months of conducting operations in Fallujah, he was injured by an improvised explosive device. He lost his right arm at the shoulder and suffered multiple internal injuries. He was transported back to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for recovery, and later to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC for rehabilitation.
After leaving the hospital, Grady and his wife moved to Wisconsin to be near family and attend college. He recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he earned a bachelor of science in education and received a Wisconsin teaching license to teach English to grades 6-12. Last month, the Grady's relocated to Washington DC where Joe took a position with the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as an assistant staff editor and hearing clerk. www.woundedwarriorproject.org
JUSTIN CONSTANTINE
U.S. MARINE CORPS RESERVES
ALIVE DAY: October 18, 2006
Major Justin Constantine joined the Marine Corps in 1997 and is currently a judge advocate (lawyer) in the Reserves. While on active duty he served as a defense counsel as well as a prosecutor.
As a Reservist, he volunteered to deploy to Iraq in 2006 as a Civil Affairs Team Leader. He had a team of eight Marines and a Navy Corpsman. They were attached to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, an infantry unit from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Six weeks into his deployment, Constantine was on a routine combat patrol when he was warned of danger. He told the reporter in front of him to move quickly because he knew there was a sniper in the area. Then the reporter took a big step forward, and the first round came in where his head had been. The next shot hit Constantine behind the ear and exited out his mouth. The Navy Corpsman saved his life with rescue breathing and an emergency tracheotomy. Constantine was stabilized at Balad Air Base and then flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for four days before being flown to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. His first surgery was 18 hours long, and he has had almost 20 reconstructive surgeries since then.
Still a Reservist, Constantine drills with a unit in Miami called MARFORSOUTH. He also completed the Marine Corps' Command and Staff College last year and was the honor grad in his class.
U.S. ARMY (RET.) ALIVE DAY: November 13, 2003
Christopher Toey served three and a half years in the US Army as an Airborne Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. While stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, Toey was wounded in a rocket attack. Shrapnel injured his foot and shattered the radius and radial head in his arm. After several surgeries, hardware was placed in his arm, which resulted in mobility issues. Toey is currently a state trooper in Frederick, Maryland and resides in Cumberland, Maryland.
JOE GRADY
U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.)
Joe Grady grew up in San Diego, California where he joined the Marine Corps following high school. After graduating from boot camp and the school of infantry, he was stationed in 29 Palms, California with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. He trained for six months before deploying to Fallujah, Iraq on July 4, 2005. After five months of conducting operations in Fallujah, he was injured by an improvised explosive device. He lost his right arm at the shoulder and suffered multiple internal injuries. He was transported back to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for recovery, and later to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC for rehabilitation.
After leaving the hospital, Grady and his wife moved to Wisconsin to be near family and attend college. He recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he earned a bachelor of science in education and received a Wisconsin teaching license to teach English to grades 6-12. Last month, the Grady's relocated to Washington DC where Joe took a position with the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as an assistant staff editor and hearing clerk. www.woundedwarriorproject.org
JUSTIN CONSTANTINE
U.S. MARINE CORPS RESERVES
ALIVE DAY: October 18, 2006
Major Justin Constantine joined the Marine Corps in 1997 and is currently a judge advocate (lawyer) in the Reserves. While on active duty he served as a defense counsel as well as a prosecutor.
As a Reservist, he volunteered to deploy to Iraq in 2006 as a Civil Affairs Team Leader. He had a team of eight Marines and a Navy Corpsman. They were attached to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, an infantry unit from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Six weeks into his deployment, Constantine was on a routine combat patrol when he was warned of danger. He told the reporter in front of him to move quickly because he knew there was a sniper in the area. Then the reporter took a big step forward, and the first round came in where his head had been. The next shot hit Constantine behind the ear and exited out his mouth. The Navy Corpsman saved his life with rescue breathing and an emergency tracheotomy. Constantine was stabilized at Balad Air Base and then flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for four days before being flown to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. His first surgery was 18 hours long, and he has had almost 20 reconstructive surgeries since then.
Still a Reservist, Constantine drills with a unit in Miami called MARFORSOUTH. He also completed the Marine Corps' Command and Staff College last year and was the honor grad in his class.
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