Simpson's father, Eugene Sr., spent 20 years in the Army and was influential in his son's decision to enlist. Simpson joined the Army on Feb. 12, 1998, and went through basic training at Fort Knox, in Kentucky. Once he joined, he knew he wanted to be a "tanker."
His father had administrative duties in the Army, and Simpson was sure that he didn't want to sit behind a desk. "That wasn't me," he said with a laugh. "I wanted more action and rough going, and so I decided to go into tanking."
Army Staff Sgt. Eugene Simpson Jr. of Dale City suffered paralyzing wounds. Now when he plays basketball in his dreams, he plays in a wheelchair.
(Michael Williamson -- The Washington Post)
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Once he settled into Army life, he discovered that he had found his place. He met his wife in Germany when he was introduced by an Army buddy who was dating her best friend.
"I loved the military," he said, "for the person that it made me become. Before, I was always a strong person, but once I got into the military, I learned more discipline, more leadership skills and how to interact with different people. It really opened up my personality."
He became a tank commander, and storming along in a 72-ton tank gave him as much satisfaction as sinking the winning shot at the buzzer.
He was deployed to Iraq on Feb 12. His unit spent a couple of weeks training in Kuwait before moving into Iraq. Because it had no tanks, training was done in Humvees. On April 7, he was on a routine patrol in Tikrit when he spotted the man with the remote control. Sitting in the front passenger seat, he tried to raise his rifle to shoot the man. Before he could get off a shot, there was an explosion five feet from the Humvee, which had no doors.
Time slowed down as the shrapnel pierced his body. "Really slowed down," he said, "like 'The Matrix.' " Finally, time returned to normal, and he could not feel anything below his waist. "I was afraid to look," he said, "because I thought my legs were gone."
He has undergone eight surgeries, learned how to drive with hand controls and passed his driver's test. A positive attitude gets him through each day. He is never not in pain. But he is looking forward. And dreaming of playing basketball in the wheelchair Olympics. Today is his first real Veterans Day, the first one on which he realizes what the day really means.
