This week we kick off our series about The Warrior’s Heart with Josh Mantz, who was shot and killed in Iraq but came back to life – now he’s on a mission to help veterans and non-veterans alike recover from the emotional wounds that severe trauma can cause.
Two mentors and role models had a significant influence on Josh’s life, and his decision to be a soldier.
The first was his stepfather, a police officer and former infantry officer who brought Josh into a military and police family. He had an incredible positive influence on Josh’s life, and got him thinking about the military as a possibility.
Second was a gentleman named Sergeant Major Doug Van Der Pool. After retiring from the special forces, where he ran anti-drug operations in South America, he took over the Junior ROTC program at a small high school in Pennsylvania.
SGM Van Der Pool and Josh’s stepfather drove home the importance of appreciating foreign cultures, appreciating the capacity of human beings wherever they come from, learning language, understanding cultural norms, and understanding empathy.
Josh entered West Point in 2001 and graduated in 2005. His class is considered “the class of 9/11” because they were freshman on that fateful day, and four years later there was no doubt that they would be sent to fight.
Josh and the other cadets wanted to quit the academy – not to leave the fight, but to enlist and ship off immediately – but, for the most part, they waited and graduated.
The Day Josh Died
Because Josh majored in Arabic, his unit was partnered with the local Iraqi police force and tasked with training them.
One day, they were on a humanitarian mission to deliver school supplies. The operation went off without a hitch, and the Iraqi police did a great job. On the way back, a RPG was fired at an American unit.
While investigating, they noticed a suspicious vehicle driving in the area. They stopped the car, and then they were engaged by an enemy sniper. A bullet ripped through the aorta of the Staff Sergeant and then severed Josh’s femoral artery.
At first, Josh didn’t know he was shot. Time and sound were distorted. “I could only hear the muted sound of the sniper shot and my own voice calling for a medic.”
Despite a brilliant evacuation effort, Josh started to die. “I consciously knew that was it. I took my last breath, said my last thought, and I died.”
His last thought was, “Please take care of them.”
Two days later, Josh woke up in the green zone. He had flatlined for 15 minutes straight and, while he survived, his Staff Sergeant did not. “I would soon come to learn that the experience of dying would pale in comparison to the decade-long emotional struggle that I’d go through as I sought to find meaning in a second life.”
The Beauty of a Darker Soul: Overcoming Trauma Through the Power of Human Connection
Trauma isn’t always what it seems.
It took almost a decade of struggle for Josh to uncover the meaning in his second life – and to admit that the experience of dying wasn’t the source of his trauma… It was the guilt in his ability to heal when so many others in the hospital couldn’t.
This may seem like an unimportant distinction, but when...
Ep. 195 - Necessary Endings and New Beginnings
Ep. 194 - How to Have More Fun & Be More Productive - with Mike Rucker, Ph.D
Ep. 193 - Helping Others Grow - with Tim Croll
Ep. 192 - Sound Impact: How Music Changes, Heals, & Unites - with Rebecca Jackson (Replay)
Ep. 191 - In Pursuit of Wholeness - with Evan Herrman
Ep. 190 - Find Your Worth
Ep. 189 - When Corporate Life Ain’t For You - with Hamilton Chan
Ep. 188 - Living Life Curious, Fulfilled, & with Purpose – with Marie Forleo (Replay)
Ep. 187 - Employee Engagement and Appreciation at Work - with Dr. Paul White
Ep. 186 - depression2extinction: Stepping Into the Good Possibilities of Your Day - with Luke Frazier
Ep. 185 - Bet On Talent - with Dee Ann Turner
Ep. 184 - It’s All People - with Gustavo Fernández
Ep. 183 - It’s Never Just Business - with Taylor Sledge
Ep. 182 - Running Toward the Flames - with Heather Adams
Ep. 181 - You Can’t Grow Without Failure - with Remi Adeleke
Ep. 180 - Do What You Love - with Vicky Oliver
Ep. 179 - Sucking The Marrow Out Of Life - with Alexis Meschi
Ep. 178 - Speaking Out To Save Lives - with Colin Morgan
Ep. 177 - Grab the Gold Ring - with Eddie Osterland
Ep. 176 - Radical Honesty: The First Step - with Tommy Baker
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
Heal, Survive & Thrive!
A Voice In The Darkness
BPLUS بیپلاس پادکست فارسی خلاصه کتاب
The Jordan Harbinger Show