J.R. Salzman

Darrell Salzman
Salzman (left) in 2007, learning diving at Walter Reed after his injury
Nickname(s)	"J.R."
Born	1979 (age 37–38) Hayward, Wisconsin
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Minnesota Army National Guard
Years of service	2003–2007
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	34th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Operation Iraqi Freedom (WIA)
Awards	Purple Heart Iraq Campaign Medal Combat Infantry Badge
Other work	logroller

Darrell "J.R." Salzman (born 1979) is a champion logroller and an Iraq War veteran. ESPN has called him "among the preeminent outdoors athletes" of the last decade.

Salzman grew up in Hayward, Wisconsin. His sisters, Tina Bosworth and Crystal Salzman, are also top logrollers. He attended the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin–Stout.

Salzman was a competitor in log rolling and boom running, a sprint on floating logs, in all six seasons of ESPN's Great Outdoor Games, winning 14 medals (more than any other player). In 2005 he was awarded the Best Outdoor Sportsman ESPY.

Between 1998 and 2010, he won eight world titles at the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward.

Salzman used his log rolling skills as a stuntman in the film Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

Salzman joined the National Guard, enlisting shortly after the two-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. His unit was activated as part of the 34th Infantry Division in the fall of 2005 and in the spring of 2006, he was deployed to Iraq.

On December 19, 2006, his vehicle was struck by an Explosively Formed Penetrator. His right arm was severed below the elbow, his left hand was pulverized by the blast, and he suffereed a traumatic brain injury. He recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a nearby Fisher House, learning to use a prosthetic arm and recover his physical skills. He is considered 100 percent physically disabled. Nevertheless, after returning to Hayward, he successfully logrolled again, practicing with and without his prosthetic. Salzman returned to competition, and won a log rolling world title in 2009.