Former President Bush Honors Veterans With ‘Portraits of Courage’

RP Members and Connections - what a great honor for our veterans by a former President. Some may not agree with President Bush or the wars he has gotten us involved in, but he lives with that decision everyday of his life. I believe that! You decide for yourself! This isn't political - this honor for our veterans.

When Johnnie Yellock enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, he knew his job as a combat controller would frequently put him in harm's way.

“We volunteered in a time of war, we knew exactly what we were up against,” he told VOA. “A lot of our job titles were putting us right on the battlefield. We were ready for that. I was prepared to die for my country.”

Although he was prepared, war has a way of changing the best-laid plans. Even Johnnie Yellock’s.

During a deployment to eastern Afghanistan, on July 6, 2011, the vehicle he was traveling in struck an improvised explosive device, or IED.

The force of the blast tore through his body. Although he had to apply a tourniquet to both of his own legs to stop the bleeding, he continued to help his team by calling in the evacuation flight that would lift them to safety and desperately needed medical assistance.

Helpless, but not hopeless

But instead of being relieved, Yellock was frustrated he couldn’t stay in the fight.

“I went from being the tip of the spear on the battlefield to being loaded on a stretcher and carted off the battlefield, completely helpless.”

“The whole family was blown up with Johnnie,” explains his mother, Reagan Yellock, also a U.S. Air Force veteran, "because it is such a traumatic experience for the whole family. I knew it was a process. My first priority was: My son was alive. What do we do? What do we do to get him help? To get him back to us and what the process is going to be.”

Yellock’s encounter with the IED that July day in Afghanistan ultimately ended his military career, and began a rehabilitation effort that continues today.

“My recovery was extensive for sure,” he admits. “I’ve had about 30 surgeries on my legs, in a process called limb salvage, so it’s a huge effort to maintain and keep my legs from amputation. I now have adaptive braces, but aside from all the physical trials of recovery and changing your lifestyle, your life took a detour. The transition of being an active-duty service member to then retiring from the military, it’s a pretty humbling journey.”

While that journey might have taken him off the battlefield, it has put him in an art gallery at the George W. Bush Presidential Museum in Dallas, Texas, where Yellock isn’t just visiting the exhibits. He’s a featured subject.