JOSHUA STEIN Corporal US Army (Ret.)
US Army Corporal Joshua Stein, son of a soldier, Josh was raised all over the world. He met his wife, Nicole while attending high school in Saipan and enlisted shortly there after. Training as a 12B combat engineer, Josh deployed to Iraq in December, 2005.
On Easter Sunday, 2006, Josh was driving a Bradley armored vehicle, filled with soldiers headed to celebrate a field mass, when an explosively-formed penetrator charge struck his vehicle. The superheated weapon sheared off both his legs, cauterizing them instantly. Josh was evacuated by helicopter with a field tourniquet on every limb, his heart stopping twice. After stabilizing him, trauma surgeons at Balad, Iraq were able to save Josh’s badly injured arms through multiple surgeries, but both legs were gone. Josh and his best friend, Marine Veteran, Neil Frustaglio, also a double-leg amputee, joined VCR in 2017 taking turns riding a modified Indian Scout with a sidecar from Los Angeles to Sturgis. In 2018, Josh became one of the first veteran amputees in the US to undergo, osseo-integration surgery, permanently implanting rods in his femur bones that attach to prosthetics. Since his surgery Josh has worked diligently to regain his strength and now walks on his own two “legs”. His wheelchair sits gathering dust. We are proud to have Josh join VCR in 2020 as a mentor. Josh will pilot a Indian Chief sidecar bike for the ride to Sturgis. Josh lives in Texas with Nikki and their four beautiful daughters. The entire family rides motorcycles. |