A Warrior Foundation Freedom Station Success Story: U.S. Marine Povas Miknaitis

Charity Name
Warrior Foundation Freedom Station

CFC Zone

Charity Type

CFC Number
40485

Cause Area

Transcript

Description:
This Warrior Foundation Freedom Station video shares the success story of Sergeant Povas Miknaitis, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.), as told from his perspective. On a 2009 mission in Afghanistan, an IED exploded beneath the floor of the house that Povas and his team entered. Although Povas sustained a serious head injury and disfigurement to his face, to the point where he couldn’t speak and barely hear, he treated his teammates first to keep them alive.

After enduring dozens of surgeries and incredibly traumatic circumstances, Povas worked hard to emerge from his personal struggles, with the help of Warrior Foundation Freedom Station. Today, he is a success story - a thriving career professional, community citizen, and mentor to other injured veterans.

Video Transcript:
We ended up getting a mission to move into a part of the city that had not been seen since the beginning of the war. We were coming in the back door of this house. One of my teammates, Sweeney, ended up moving in the house first and he stepped on an IED, just blew his legs off. I was hit with shrapnel as well. They said that I was missing roughly a third of my mouth, and my ear on my right side was actually hanging by a thread.

When I was retiring from the Marine Corps, it was suggested that I come move into Freedom Station as a transitionary process. I've often thought about where I might be if I hadn't come to Freedom Station, and sometimes I wonder if maybe I would be that person on the street corner asking for money, because I know that I've been in some pretty dark places. Being at a place like Freedom Station, they've been able to help me out with the different battles that I've faced in my life.