Back In The Fight by Sergeant
First Class Joseph Kapacziewski, his wife Kimberly, and Charles
W. Sasser is an incredible story of perseverance and determination.
It has something for everyone including the history of the
war on terror, how the Rangers became an elite unit, Joe’s
training and combat, and how he and his family faced the new
challenges of his wounds and recovery.
The best parts of the book are when Kim and Joe discuss how
they bravely endured his recovery and his decision to amputate
his right leg, In October 2005 while on a mission in Northern
Iraq insurgents attacked his convoy. A grenade fell through
the gunner’s hatch and exploded, shattering Joe’s
right leg below the knee, damaging his right hip, and severing
a nerve and artery in his right arm. After enduring more than
forty surgeries, because of the chronic pain and limited mobility,
in 2007 he decided to amputate. Since Joe lived for being
a Ranger he used the Ranger motto, “never surrender,”
to accomplish his goal of returning to full combat duty as
a squad leader in the Ranger unit in 2008. This past July
he was one of thirty soldiers to be honored at the All Star
Game, representing the Boston Red Sox. He now jokes about
his injury, using his beloved baseball, when he noted in the
book, “What were the odds that some asshole could have
made a major league pitch like that?”
Since he is only thirty years old and has served for almost
twelve years he is willing to put himself through the grueling
training that the Army Rangers require to prove that he is
fit for combat. He discussed in the book how he must have
a proficiency of 80% for the pushup and sit-up drills, do
a two mile run, a five mile run in under forty minutes, a
twelve mile foot march with forty pounds of gear under three
hours, and a parachute jump out of airplanes. In addition,
he had to learn to fast rope out of helicopters without the
use of his legs, and to avoid the friction burns by using
multiple hand gloves.
Joe stated, “I met the Ranger’s standards and
in some cases exceeded them. I do feel there are always eyes
on me and I have to perform at my best constantly. Since I
have become an amputee I have had five deployments to Afghanistan.
I wrote the book to provide inspiration for those who may
be going through what I had to endure. I did not want to lose
my leg because I thought that would mean I was a cripple.
I had to prove to myself that I could still achieve what I
wanted to by putting in the hard work and the time. I was
helped considerably by my ‘Ranger tough’ wife,
Kim.”
The parts of the book where Kim gives her impressions are
heart wrenching. She wants Americans to understand that family
members also endure the hardship of an injury and must display
outward and inner courage. For her, the nightmare became even
more magnified when she had to deal with not only the fact
that Joe was critically injured but that the Army seemed to
be impersonal when giving casualty notifications and then
literally losing Joe’s whereabouts until he arrived
at Walter Reed Medical Hospital.
Kim commented about her experiences, “I gave a lot of
people an earful when they came to check in on Joe. I wanted
to make sure this never happened again. In that sense I was
a lot like Scarlett O’Hara: head strong, bull headed,
and determined. Regarding his injury, I thought I was going
to faint when I saw his leg. No one warned us about how much
pain he was in. The “Phantom Pains” were just
unbelievable. He would put his head in the pillow to scream
and cry. I stayed up all night long to press the pain medication
button so he could rest.”
Both Joe and Kim are hoping that those who lost limbs, as
well as all American citizens, will read the book to understand
what the injured go through. As Kim stated, “They should
not be encouraged to accept their injury as the defining moment
in their life so maybe Americans can offer them opportunities
to contribute to society and become productive.”
Back In The Fight does this and more by telling a story
of determination and courage on the part of both Kim and Joe.
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