Rochester, MN
United States Army
Patrick was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1981. His father was a NAVY flight engineer and his mother a NAVY intelligence specialist. Patrick grew up in Florida, attended high school in Hawaii, and then returned to Florida for college at Florida State, graduating in 2004.
Patrick enlisted as a cavalry scout in the Army in 2005 and deployed to Iraq in 2006 and again 2009.
Life changed dramatically for Patrick on November 5, 2009 as he was one of the most severely wounded from the terrorist attack at Fort Hood in Texas. Patrick was shot in the head three times before he found the strength to crawl to safety where a medic found him. Thirteen soldiers died that day along with thirty-two more who were wounded. Patrick’s heroic journey to start a family and lead a normal life is an extraordinary story.