Tyler Ziegel
| Tyler Ziegel | |
|---|---|
Tyler Ziegel with wife Reneé holding scissors.
|
|
| Born |
Tyler W. Ziegel October 16, 1982 Peoria, Illinois, United States |
| Died | December 26, 2012 (aged 30) Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | United States Marine |
| Spouse(s) | Renée Kline (2006–2007) |
| Parent(s) | Jeffrey Ziegel Rebecca Ziegel |
Tyler "Ty" W. Ziegel (October 16, 1982 – December 26, 2012) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who suffered severe burns during the war in Iraq. He received the Purple Heart medal.
Ty Ziegel was born in Peoria, Illinois and was the eldest of two sons of Jeffrey and Rebecca Ziegel. Tyler's father worked in construction, his mother was a waitress. After school Ziegel joined U.S. Marine Corps. In 2003, after boot camp, he was sent to Iraq.
On December 22, 2004. Marine Sgt. Ziegel and six other marines were part of a convoy coming back to Al Asad Air Base from al-Qaim, northwestern Iraq, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near their truck.
Ziegel survived but suffered serious injuries: left arm was later amputated below the elbow, three fingers of his right hand were lost, in place of the thumb the big toe was transplanted; Ziegel became blind in one eye; his ears, nose and lips were burnt off. Also he had shrapnel in his skull, above the eyebrows there was a hole in the bone. For future use part of Ziegel's skull was implanted into the fatty tissues of the upper part of his body and artificial plate was placed instead of it. Ty also lost his tear duct, replaced by a prosthesis. As well, some parts of the face that were lost failed to recover even after more than 30 surgeries.
On October 7, 2006, shortly after discharge from the hospital, Tyler Ziegel married Renée Kline, whom he met before being sent to Iraq. They got engaged during Ty's short vacation, when Renée's father died in an accident. Ty and Renée's wedding was widely reported by the press in the United States. Their marriage day was declared a holiday in Illinois. The wedding was attended by American photographer Nina Berman. She took a series of shots, one of which won First Prize among portraits on World Press Photo. A year after the wedding Ziegel and Kline divorced. The reason for the divorce, according to them, was the haste with which they were married, and ill-considered decision to marry.
...
Wikipedia