March 3, 2023
Wounded Warriors Family Support awarded U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Joseph Deslauriers of Destin, Florida with a $30,000 vehicle grant to assist him with the purchase of a 2023 Chevy Silverado.
In September of 2011, MSgt. Deslauriers, a 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal technician, was mounted in a mine resistance vehicle conducting a post-blast assessment of an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Explosive Ordnance disposal specialists are tactical and technical explosive efforts who are trained to destroy and disable unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction. In an effort to get a closer look at the damage done by an IED blast, MSgt. Deslauriers dismounted and subsequently set off an IED. The explosion that ensued resulted in MSgt. Deslauriers losing both legs above the knee, and his left arm at the elbow.
MSgt. Deslauriers, who carried out two tours of duty in Afghanistan and served in Iraq, Kuwait and Kosovo, was immediately evacuated to National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he was met by his wife Lisa, who, at the time, was eight months pregnant. She has since delivered the couple’s first child, a son named Cameron. MSgt. Deslauriers earned the Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service and US Air Force Commendation Medal, US Air Force Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and more.
Wounded Warriors Family Support is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured, or killed during combat operations. This organization is run by combat veterans for combat veterans. Rated a four-star nonprofit by Charity Navigator, Wounded Warriors Family Support aids veterans and their families in healing the wounds that medicine cannot.