Growing up in rural Montana, Mary always pushed herself to be the best she could be in both

school and sports. She aspired to become a veterinarian after high school, but the events of 9/11

stirred a strong sense of patriotism and duty in her heart. "I was only a junior in high school, but

I’ll never forget that day. I heard the reports on the radio as I drove to school. My classmates

and I watched as the second tower fell. I wanted to help, but couldn’t at the time. It was a life

changing experience for our whole country." After graduation, Mary joined the Army and

tested high enough to become an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) tech. After basic training,

Mary became the first female ever to be assigned to the 707th Ordinance Company in Ft. Lewis,

Washington.

On January 1, 2007, Mary and her unit were deployed to Camp Liberty/Victory in Iraq, where they ran over 350 missions to clear routes and dispose of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Always pushing herself to grow, Mary was studying for her Sergeant board. November 4th started just like any other day, when the team was called to handle an IED discovered between a school and apartment buildings. Mary and her teammate, Bruce, removed the IED in pieces, and when she set one of the disposal bags down, it began to rock back and forth. Instinctively, she hugged it to herself - and the explosive detonated. The blast blew Mary into the Humvee behind her and catastrophically amputated both arms, fragged her face, and blew out her ear drums. Within 15 minutes, Mary was in the Medevac helicopter.

Mary awoke in Germany and was eventually moved to Brook Army Medical Center. "I battled

my way through recovery, surgeries, depression, body dysmorphia, and fought to get off the

myriad of drugs I was on for over a year. And I did it with a smile. Because maybe seeing me

smile would help the other troops recovering at Brook Army Medical Center; maybe it would

help my family accept what happened to me; maybe it would assuage my fellow soldiers who

struggled with survivor’s guilt. I hope it did." She moved back to Washington to be close to her

unit and eventually met James, the love of her life. He is an EOD Tech as well, and as she jokes,

“a more successful one than I.” Mary battled breast cancer as well, but James has been by her

side through everything.