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Polaris and its aviation team have once again stepped up to assist the family of a serviceman who was seriously wounded while serving in Iraq last December.
The most recent flight service provided by Polaris allowed the serviceman – 25-year-old Minnesota National Guard Sgt. John Kriesel – to leave Washington, D.C., for the first time since December 2006 to visit his Minnesota home.
It was only a visit, but it was a welcome break from the strenuous rehabilitation work Kriesel pushes himself through daily as he becomes more and more adept at using his prosthetic legs. In the explosion that killed two of his fellow solders in Fallujah, Iraq, in December, Kriesel suffered the loss of both legs from about the knees down.
On Tuesday, April 23, Sgt. Kriesel came home to Minnesota aboard a Polaris aircraft, with the craft and its operating expenses donated by Polaris and Executive Aviation, and the pilots – Capt. Brian R. Barber and Capt. Tim Howard – donating their time and service.
The homecoming was covered by KARE 11, the NBC-TV affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and will be broadcast as the KARE 11 EXTRA segment on the Tuesday, May 1, newscast that begins at 10 p.m. CDT.
Following the broadcast, the feature will be available for viewing on the station’s website, located online at
www.kare11.com
KARE 11 has covered Sgt. Kriesel’s story extensively since he was wounded in combat. The station’s website hosts several earlier broadcasts about the young Minnesotan as well as an online journal he has maintained over the past four months.
Polaris Team Has Stepped Up Before
In March, the Polaris captains donated their time to fly Sgt. Kriesel’s two young sons, and the grandparents they currently live with in Minnesota, to Washington, D.C. The boys made the trip to visit their parents, Sgt. Kriesel and his wife Katie.
When Sgt. Kriesel was wounded, he was first taken to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, then transferred to his current home away from home, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He is expected to be there until at least the fall of this year. His wife Katie has been at his side almost steadily since he was hospitalized in Germany, and at Walter Reed she assists him in his recovery and his demanding physical therapy.
To read the full story of the first set of flights provided by Polaris, Executive Aviation and the Polaris pilots, go to:
Polaris ESCAPE Online News
KARE 11’s Online Promo
Here is the promotional copy KARE 11 has posted in advance of the May 1 feature.
KARE 11 Extra: On step at a time
Tuesday at 10 p.m., in the KARE 11 News Extra, a comeback story that will warm your heart.
Come along as we follow the grit and determination of a Minnesota soldier – to walk again.
Sgt. John Kriesel lost both of his legs while serving in Iraq. In the past few months, he's endured countless surgeries and grueling physical therapy.
And now, he's ready to walk again.
Be there for the triumphant moment and see what happens when he finally comes home to Minnesota.
See the story Tuesday at 10 p.m., in the KARE 11 News Extra.
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