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Have you ever had a huge change in your life? Many of us have had and will have many of those moments throughout our lives.
Maybe a job change or being "let go" a move to a new place or new school. Perhaps your change was physical in nature and required medical attention, physical therapy, etc. These sudden changes in our lives can often be one of two things -- an event that brings us to our knees, doesn't let us up and defines us for the rest of our lives, or a moment that makes us a better person and defines the type of person we are.
Those feelings are not all that different than some of the feelings the man I have come to call a great friend faces. This is the tale of the great person he has now become thanks to Operation Second Chance.
I first met Keith Maul in the spring of 2015. He came to participate in a hunt that hosted each year by No Person Left Behind, for wounded and disabled veterans. First impressions can mean so much and not only was I inspired by Maul, I wanted to get to know him and his story. Having become good friends, I'd be lying if I didn't say when we sat down to do this interview we had a lot of fun.
Maul grew up in the small town of Portage, where he played for the Mustang baseball team. Maul faced some recruiters from some are colleges that were looking to acquire his skills, but it was a different recruiter Maule would be headed to visit.
"A friend of mine joined the Army National Guard," Maul began. "I'll never forget that he sat in front of me in English class one day and on the back of his shirt was The Soldiers Creed. After reading it I got goosebumps and then I realized what I wanted to do. I knew what I wanted to do with my life."
Maul shortly thereafter enlisted in April of 2006 and jumped right into basic training in July after graduation. In September 2008 Maul's unit was activated and deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq, in February 2009.
"I was only in Iraq for about two weeks when we were finally sent on our first mission of route clearance," Maul said. "Five-and-a-half hours into our six hour mission, convoy was attacked. I was struck with an RKG3, a Russian hand grenade that severed my right arm and leg almost completely."
That arm and leg were beyond repair, leaving Maul a double amputee. Hours of surgeries and extended stays at Walter Reed Medical Center took a toll on Maul and his family. That injury would lead to me meeting Maul for our first hunting excursion in 2015.
"I grew up hunting just about everything with my dad," he said. "I took up specifically a kind of addiction with bow hunting. Aside from my family who I loved and missed, hunting was something I most looked forward to doing when I returned."
Maul went on and said, "Walter Reed actually teams up with a program that offers hunting and I was able to hunt a few times later that year. Hunting to me after my injury then became the only thing that made me feel like everything was OK. It sort of took me back to feeling normal like I did before I was injured, and of course, the archery addiction was still inside me."
As we sat and talked, we shared common thread between our love, respect and awe of the beauty of nature. I asked Keith to do a little word association for fun.
Turkey: Call. Whitetail: Buck.
Maul quickly responded. He is as much a part of our beloved sport of hunting and as enthralled with it as the next guy. What makes Maul a little different, you may ask?
"Going overseas and defending our country is something I will always have great pride in doing. It truly made me feel like my life had a purpose and it was and honor for me to be able to serve." Maul said. "Although I was severely wounded and almost lost my life, I am glad I was the only person in my company severely injured on that deployment. I'm glad that all of my brothers made it home safely and I would take that blast again for them, and for our country."
Maul is proof that you can define the crucial moments in your life, not letting those moments define you.
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John Knouse is a Juniata County native and former Sentinel sports reporter.