One day he innocently stopped by the Selective Service Office to check the status of his student deferment, before he knew what hit him, at age 19, Gene Murphy would soon find himself in a place that would change his life forever – Vietnam. Drafted into the U.S. Army, his plan and training was to be a mortarman, but in an instant he was reassigned as an infantryman and in less than a week was sent into the dangerous bush of this Southeastern country half-ways around the world from his South Dakota home.

As a young Army sergeant in Vietnam in 1969, Murphy was paralyzed by two gunshots to his right side just 30 days before he was scheduled to return home to the United States.  His injury would not only prevent him from ever walking again, but would set him on a long history of advocacy on behalf of disabled veterans. Almost immediately on his return from Vietnam when he became a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and would later serve as DAV National Commander in 1987-88.  This is his story.

To watch Gene’s whole story in its entirety (25:12), click here.