My Hero. My Son. Sgt. Jay D. Erwin II

First of all thank you for the opportunity to share my story about my son Sgt. Jay D. Erwin II (medically retired).

Jay has always been the adventurous one in our family. Of course he was the only boy too. He was raised by me as a single parent and his 2 sisters. So, naturally everything he did was all boy!!!

From a very young age he always wanted to be an "army guy", like his uncle, Major George W. Davis. He really looked up to "Uncle George" who was and still is an incredible influence in his life.

As Jay entered his senior of high school he constantly wanted to talk to recruiters and always was reminding about his dream of joining the army. I had one request from Jay, that he at least attend one year of college before making his decision. He attended Kansas State University for a year and a half . Of course, I knew I was going to get the call that he had enlisted and was scheduled to depart to Fort Benning, GA for basic training on the deferred enlistment program. I had a few short months with him, took him to Kansas City, where he left my arms to fly away to his dream.

Jay had many successes in his career. The one that made the most impact was September 1, 2006, when his platoon was hit by direct enemy mortar fire. My son and his 'brothers" were severely injured and some perished.

The call from a physician in Baghdad to my cell phone in the middle of the day has forever changed our family. Countless hours of waiting for the call that he had survived surgery, countless hours of waiting for updates, countless hours of tears, countless hours of prayer.....

Jay was well enough a week later that he was stable enough to be transported to Germany and then on to Walter Reed where we were ultimately reunited and stayed for about 3 months while he recovered from his devastating injuries.

Heroism has many definitions. Is it in the courage, is it in the soul, is it in our destiny????

While many young men and women have shown the same unbelievable heroism in their own right.... my hero is Sgt. Jay D. Erwin II .

For the last 3 years he has shown such bravery, such courage, such inner strength, such compassion. He has been deeply wounded physically and scarred emotionally, but each day he makes a difference not only in his life but the lives of his family and the veterans that he helps in our community.

I am proud of my "Army Guy" , he will never be the same, our family will never be the same, but we once again we are touched by his courage and bravery.

Sincerely,

Sue Er