Griffin Fitzgerald

Growing up in a military community, Griffin knew from a young age he wanted to serve his country. “I always looked up to service members. I probably watched way too many war movies and always saw myself joining the Army.” Immediately after graduating high school, Griffin enlisted in the Army. Following basic training, he was sent to Fort Drum in New York. “I got there in October of 2007, and it was already snowing. I requested to go to a unit that was about to deploy to escape the winter.”

Griffin’s first deployment was to northern Iraq. It was there he received his first Purple Heart when he was injured by an improvised explosive device. “I was medevacked to Germany. They told me I might eventually need surgery on my right knee, but I was able to convince the doctors to let me go back and finish my deployment.”

After his deployment to Iraq ended, Griffin returned to Ft. Drum. It was there that he met and married his wife, Tracy. Not long before he was set to deploy, this time to Afghanistan, Griffin and Tracy learned they were expecting their first child. On April 12, 2011, while conducting dismounted patrol operations near Kandahar, Griffin stepped on a hidden explosive that caused catastrophic injuries, including the loss of his right leg. “I attempted to put a tourniquet on myself, but I had pretty bad injuries to my hands. My medic came and I was quickly put on a helicopter to a hospital in Kandahar.”

Soon after, Griffin was sent to Germany, where the same medical team that had treated him before waited for him. “They told me the good news was I wouldn't need that knee surgery.” Eventually, he would end up at Walter Reed for the remainder of his recovery and rehabilitation. “The recovery process was long and difficult. I'm not sure without the constant support from my family and the incredible people at Walter Reed that I would have had the outcome I did. I'm extremely grateful to all of the people who were involved in my treatment - they will always be heroes to me.”

After leaving Walter Reed, Griffin and Tracy settled in Rochester, NY where they now have four beautiful children. “Being a husband and father has given me a sense purpose that keeps me going. My children are very active in sports. We all do jiu jitsu and judo. My oldest two are very involved in wrestling.”

Griffin currently works for a prosthetic company as a patient model where he conducts training to assist and teach people how to use and wear prosthetics. “The work is extremely rewarding. I often do trainings where we will teach how to use a prosthesis and seeing some walk for the first time in years is always amazing. I had a lot of people help me when I was learning. To be able to give back and help someone else is a big deal for me.”

Through every hardship and setback, Griffin has persevered.

“I often give advice as part of my job. The biggest thing I tell people is find a purpose. The things that are obstacles now you won't even notice in a year or two.”

The Gary Sinise Foundation is honored to build Griffin and his family where they can grow and thrive.