U.S. Army Pvt. Mark Graham, 22, died Wednesday of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on combat patrol Mar. 2 in northwest Baghdad.
Graham, a 2002 graduate of St. Thomas More, was the only survivor in the attack. He suffered severe injuries, including the amputation of both legs, the loss of one kidney and third-degree burns over more than 60 percent of his body. He was sent to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he died."Mark is the hero of his family as well as the country he served," his family said in a brief statement Wednesday night. "We will never forget his valor and his love of the human spirit."
Graham's mother, Kim Graham, also wrote an essay following her son's passing.
"I am telling my son goodbye today. I'll stand with his wife and my husband and wish him well and God speed," the essay read. "Did we do the right thing, I'll ask? I will have to trust that our leaders know more than they can ever tell the everyday Americans. And I will have to busy myself with mindless tasks till he walks through that door again, safe from harm and into the arms of his family."