IN THIS NOV. 21 PHOTO released by ABC, J.R. Martinez, left, and his partner Karina Smirnoff per form on the celebrity dance competition series “Dancing with the Stars,” in Los Angeles. The Iraq war veteran was named “Dancing With the Stars” champion Tuesday, beating Rob Kardashian during the season-ending episode of the ABC hit.
Martinez, who was once stationed at Fort Campbell, was burned over 40 percent of his body after his Humvee struck a land mine in Iraq in 2003. His positive attitude after his injuries sparked a new career as a motivational speaker and an actor on ABC’s now retired soap opera “All My Children.”
But it was his natural dance skills that helped propel him and his dance partner Karina Smirnoff to win ABC’s celebrity dance competition Tuesday.
Military psychologist Tony Franklin told The Leaf- Chronicle that Martinez has the power to help others who are facing similar life-altering injuries.
“I think it has an immeasurable impact,” Franklin said, “not just for people who have been disfigured or badly burned, but actually for everyone who sees somebody overcome something like this. I think J. R. has made an incredibly bold statement to the world, and especially to wounded warriors, that no matter what happens, you can overcome it.” Lt. Col. Daniel Sengstacke, who spent time as a nurse in the burn ward of Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio before coming to Fort Campbell, said Martinez’s victories both on the show and in his personal life have the potential to improve public perceptions about soldiers, especially those returning from war with visible scars.
“ Hopefully,” Sengstacke said, “the wounded warriors watching can see that life doesn’t have to end.”
Maj. David Admire, an occupational therapist at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Ky., met Martinez as he was recovering from his injuries and undergoing plastic surgery.
“Even then, we could tell … he had such an outgoing personality,” Admire said. “He would visit other soldiers, other patients. He wasn’t afraid to talk about what happened. He wasn’t afraid to show his face, which was huge.”
Admire said Martinez has proven to soldiers who are currently recovering that if he can succeed, they can too. “I think that’s J.R.’s big mission in life right now,” Admire said.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
