January 22, 2021
Wounded Warriors Family Support was honored to present the Acosta family a new Ford F-150!
Daniel Acosta was born and raised in Joliet, IL. He joined the United States Air Force in December 2002. After witnessing the 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center during high school, Daniel was determined to join the military and a career field he felt would have a direct impact on the war. He served seven years as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician and held the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Upon completion of Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Daniel was assigned to the 775th EOD at Hill AFB, Utah where he continued advanced EOD training and operations. In 2005 he was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. Daniel was severely injured on December 7th of 2005, when a roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated, as he was conducting EOD operations to disarm multiple IEDs in a residential neighborhood of Baghdad. He sustained a traumatic left arm amputation at the shoulder, third degree burns to both legs, shrapnel wound to right femoral artery and heart. At Baghdad Hospital, he was initially given a 10% chance of survival. During his road to recovery, Daniel spent the next 30 months at Brooke Army Medical Center rehabilitating from his injuries. He medically retired from the Air Force in May of 2009.
When Daniel returned home to Chicago, he put his skills and experiences from the military and the veteran advocacy community to use in the Risk Management industry as an Account Manager for Aon, where he served for 6 years. Today, Daniel remains heavily involved in the veteran community by working with local and regional governments, corporations and non-profit organizations to advocate for increased employment for veterans and their spouses. In addition, Daniel serves as a board member to several non-profit organizations serving the veteran community and has conducted several community initiatives in support of recruiting and retaining veterans in the job marketplace.
