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Michael Jernigan, who was wounded in Iraq by an improvised explosive device in 2004, and wife KimberLee are greeted at Kahului Airport by Mayor Michael Victorino and Janna Hoehn, president of the Maui County Veterans Council on Sunday. The couple will be staying on Maui until Thursday at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa as part of the nonprofit Vacations For Warriors, which funds dream vacations for wounded veterans. Maui County Veterans Council also pitched in to help the Jernigans on their vacation. Michael Jernigan was with Company E 2nd Battalion 2nd Marine regiment on Aug. 22, 2004, while on a deployment in Fallujah. His platoon was hit by two 155 mm artillery shells buried under the ground. Forty-five percent of his cranium was crushed in and shrapnel entered in his right eye and exited through his left eye, cutting everything in between, leaving him totally blind. He had to have two fingers reattached and his left knee fully reconstructed. Jernigan went through 30 major surgeries in the first year and spent 16 months in hospitals and rehab facilities. Since recovering from his injuries, Jernigan volunteers whenever he can and was awarded the "Veteran of the Year Award" from his hometown of St. Petersburg, Fla. He co-founded Paws for Patriots at South Eastern Guide Dogs, which provides guide dogs and service animals to veterans. He is a motivational speaker, counselor and author of the book "Vision." "It wasn't until I lost my sight that I gained my vision," he said. "Too often people solely rely on their eyes to see but miss out on life's most precious moments, the ones you can't see but only feel."
ALAN FUKUYAMA photo