On December 3, 2010 Cpl. Tyler Huffman suffered injuries from two shots into his chest that left him paralyzed. Sketch artist Michael Fay recounts Tyler’s account of that fateful day. Fay wrote, “He remembers everything. Everything. First hit by two shots, felt like two punches to the chest. Second, in slow motion, his body kicks backwards. Immediately upon hitting the ground he notices his feet are flopping open. He can’t feel or move his legs.”

Huffman is from Fulton, Missouri. He has a wife and two year old son. After being honored at a veterans dinner, community philanthropist Joe Twehous offered Tyler a plot of land in Jefferson City, Missouri. After thinking about it, he said yes. Here is where Operation Tyler was created.