Storyteller. Horseman. Wounded Warrior
In 2006, Sgt. Braxton McCoy (Ret.) while performing a security detail outside of Ramadi, Iraq, was severely wounded by a suicide bomber. Both his legs and arms were broken in multiple places, spine was fractured, had a number of fractured ribs, had bleeding on the brain, and a severed medial nerve to his right hand. What followed was over two dozen surgeries and nearly a decade of physical therapy and rehabilitation. It was during his long term recovery, Sgt. McCoy twice served as a National Advocate for the Army Wounded Warrior Program, and twice as Veterans’ Advocate for the Coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans in the District of Columbia. These four years as an advocate were focused on getting veterans back to work, as a meaningful way to outflank Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In 2013, Sgt. McCoy started the Warrior Employment Project, a non-profit designed to connect veteran families-in-need with CEO’s and CIO’s, with the dual purpose of leading veterans’ to employment, as well as working with these families to solve immediate financial problems impeding their progress.
In 2018, he ceased running that non-profit initiative, and now spends his time training horses and writing and speaking about what it takes to overcome the challenges that life inevitably sends our way. When he is not working, you can find Sgt. McCoy interacting with the horses he loves, climbing mountains to reach the best hunting and fishing in America’s backcountry, teaching others to hunt and fish, or competing in endurance races.
As a result of his service he has been awarded several medals including an Army Commendation Medal with V Device for exceptionally valorous achievement in combat and a Purple Heart.
If you want to know more about his incredible journey, his book The Glass Factory is available for purchase here: The Glass Factory
