USMC Sergeant Jordan Maynard: A Promise to Come Home
prom·ise
- a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.
As USMC Sergeant Jordan Maynard lay on the ground in Afghanistan in 2011 after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED), he didn’t question if he’d live or die. Jordan’s first thoughts were of six-year-old Jay … and the promise Jordan now made to himself to do everything in his power to return home to his young son.
Having known from a young age that he wanted to join the military, Jordan became a Marine in 2007 and deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, serving as a mortar squad leader and conducting over 100 patrols with multiple joint task forces. It was in his second deployment to Afghanistan, during an assignment with his team to provide security to a patrol base and clear the compound of IEDs, that Jordan stepped on the IED.
Though Jordan had lost both legs and suffered a compound fracture of his elbow, thoughts of his son inspired him to stay calm as he remained conscious to direct the Marines who’d come to his aid. While Jordan was medevaced off the scene, his heart stopped multiple times, forcing the medics to manually pump his heart by hand until they landed at medical facilities in Afghanistan.
Jordan was sent to Germany for further treatment, and his family arrived to stay by his side in the earliest days of recovery, though Jordan had made a special request: for his son not to come, which served as all the motivation Jordan needed to keep his sights on returning home throughout the long and painful days at the hospital.
One week later, Jordan’s greatest wish came true – he and Jay were reunited at Walter Reed National Military Medical Hospital in Bethesda, MD, where Jordan underwent further treatment in the ICU before being transferred to Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego to be closer to family. It was at Balboa that he met June, who became his case manager at Semper Fi & America’s Fund.
“I just remember waking up and seeing June,” Jordan said. “She’s been there ever since.”
June and The Fund provided Jordan with specialized equipment and innovative devices to help him live a more independent life alongside his family, who all love the outdoors. As Jordan had grown up going camping and fishing with his family, nature proved to be a great source of solace throughout his recovery and beyond.
“It became my therapy, and given the choice, I would always choose to be outside,” said Jordan. “We love to go on adventures as a family. We’re not stagnant – that’s for sure.”
The Maynard family can often be found exploring the outdoors or camping in their wheelchair accessible camper, which they purchased with help from The Fund.And now, it’s been eleven years since The Fund first met the Maynard family.
“There’s always someone at The Fund to reach out to and there has been for eleven years now,” Jordan said. “That counts for more than anything.”
Inspired by Jordan’s incredible bravery, love for his family, and endless tenacity, The Fund is honored to be a part of Jordan’s courageous adventures, always remembering the promise that he made to come home and all the ways he fulfilled that since, living each day to the fullest alongside his wonderful family.