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Marine's triumphant story makes him ideal candidate for 9/11 remembrances

 
Retired Marine Michael Jernigan walks a path at Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Palmetto campus with the help of Treasure on Tuesday. Jernigan lost his vision and suffered severe injuries in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq in 2004.
Retired Marine Michael Jernigan walks a path at Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Palmetto campus with the help of Treasure on Tuesday. Jernigan lost his vision and suffered severe injuries in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq in 2004.
Published Sept. 11, 2015

Fourteen years after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, most of us can still recount exactly where we were on that unforgettable morning. After getting home in the early hours from his job as a bartender, St. Petersburg native Michael Jernigan woke up to a phone call from a friend, urging him to turn on the television.

Blurry-eyed, Jernigan, like most Americans, watched the events unfold live on TV as the second plane crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

"I remember sitting there and thinking, 'What is going on?' " Jernigan recalled.

The trials, tribulations and triumphs Jernigan eventually endured after that day make him an ideal candidate to lend perspective to Patriot Day observances, and he will do so twice this week at events on both sides of Tampa Bay.

• • •

A little more than a year after that tragic day, Jernigan enlisted in the military, just like his grandfather and father had done. In fact, it was his father who swore him into the U.S. Marine Corps. Back then, Jernigan says his life was stagnant. He believed that joining the Marines would provide him with the direction, focus and discipline he needed. After basic training and an assignment in Okinawa, Japan, Jernigan volunteered to be deployed to Iraq.

What started as just an ordinary day in August 2004, changed Jernigan's life in an instant. The Humvee he was riding in hit a roadside bomb. He woke up in a hospital, unable to see. Jernigan has the unenviable distinction of being the first U.S. serviceman to lose both of his eyes during the War on Terror, and also suffered bodily injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

After 30 surgeries in just a year, and 16 months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Jernigan was medically retired as a corporal in 2005 and awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon for his service.

"I made a hell of a decision," Jernigan said of his military service, without an ounce of remorse. "The bombing changed my life."

• • •

Recovering from such major injuries wasn't easy. But when Jernigan came home to St. Petersburg, he was introduced to Southeastern Guide Dogs, and in 2006 founded the organization's Paws for Patriots program, which matches guide dogs with veterans. So far, the program has provided more than 100 dogs to deserving veterans.

These days, Jernigan is a community outreach specialist for the nonprofit organization, and earns praise from just about everyone he works with.

"Michael inspires us every day with his courage, determination and vision for the future," noted Titus Herman, CEO of Southeastern Guide Dogs. "He is an especially good role model for our veterans with PTSD as well as our visually impaired students, giving them hope and the promise of a better life when paired with one of our extraordinary dogs."

Jernigan is also a sought-after motivational speaker. He'll be the keynote speaker at the annual Patriot Day Memorial Breakfast at the St. Petersburg Coliseum on Friday and will speak at the Eighth Annual Patriot Day and National POW/MIA Recognition Day Observance Saturday at Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park.

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"The message is, let us remember those who gave their lives and those who stepped up in the cleanup efforts," Jernigan said of his upcoming speeches, noting the role first responders and members of the military played. "We want to remember so that America doesn't forget."

• • •

Standing by Jernigan's side at each of his presentations will be his new guide dog, Treasure, a yellow Labrador. The pair graduated last month from Southeastern Guide Dogs' 237th class. Treasure was handpicked for her confidence, calmness and ability to help Jernigan navigate the challenges he faces because of his vision loss and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Treasure is Jernigan's second guide dog. His first, Brittani, retired in February after eight years together.

"I was alone for six months," Jernigan said of the time he spent between guide dogs. "And I would find myself talking to her (Brittani) even though she wasn't there. But when I got Treasure, after a few days I realized, she's my buddy."

Given what Jernigan has gone through in the past decade, it would be understandable for him to feel some bitterness. But instead, the 35-year-old counts his ordeal as a blessing.

"In being wounded, I've been able to make a difference in a lot of people's lives."

Contact Candace Rotolo at hillsnews@tampabay.com.