Veteran gives motivational speech


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SSG Travis Mills talks about his life as an amputee, April 17, in Plachta Auditorium.

It was a normal day at work for Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills—until he set down his bag. An improvised explosive device was activated, and caused him to lose a portion from all four of his limbs.

‘I have to get back to my guys, let me get up,’ was one of the first things Mills said after the explosion.

Travis Mills is one of the five surviving quadruple amputees that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. After being injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, he has found a different way to serve his country.

The veteran founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to help wounded soldiers. He also gives inspirational speeches across the country about overcoming adversity.

“I just had a bad day at work,” Mills said. “A case of the Mondays.”

Mills made countless jokes at his own expense during the event, and said his service meant no more or less than anyone else who served in the military. He shared his story with a filled Plachta Auditorium on April 17 as the featured speaker for the third annual Veterans on Campus Speaker Series.

“This kind of event shows you a side of the military that most people don’t get a chance to see,” said Freeland senior Pete Baskins. “It hits closer to home.”

Mills said some of his biggest motivators when he was in rehabilitation were his family, fellow veterans and their families and another quadruple amputee that visited him in the hospital.

“I had to rebuild myself,” Mills said. “I had to get better for them, that’s what motivated me. My daughter will see me fall and have failures, but never give up.”

With a series of short-term goals that included feeding himself, Mills successfully walked a five-kilometer road race five months after losing all of his limbs. Today Mills snowboards, skydives and spends time with his wife and daughter when he isn’t giving motivational speeches or going on retreats with other veterans who are amputees.

“Not every day is going to be successful, but there will be success and you have to keep pushing forward,” Mills said.

University President George Ross helped fund bringing Travis Mills to campus, along with the rest of the President’s office.

“Whenever we have an opportunity to hear a veteran’s story, I expect it's going to reinforce for me and many others in this room the sacrifices that service men and women make,” Ross said.

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Editor-in-Chief Kate Carlson is a senior from Lapeer who is majoring in journalism with a minor in ...

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