Nov 22, 2009 5:59 pm US/Central
West Chicago Welcomes Home Local Soldier
Pfc. Joshua Kerber Lost An Arm In Afghanistan But Vows To Adjust In 'Two-Handed World'
WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Pfc. Joshua Kerber receives a hero's welcome Sunday at his hometown of West Chicago.
CBS
A local soldier who lost an arm to insurgents in Afghanistan only weeks ago is inspiring the people of his hometown.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole was in West Chicago Sunday when hundreds turned out to welcome him home.
In the parking lot of a strip mall, flagged volunteers on motorbikes welcomed home a hero.
Pfc. Joshua Kerber is a military policeman. While in a vehicle on patrol near a small Afghani village, he lost his left arm to an insurgent rocket attack barely seven weeks ago.
"It touches me, I am honored to be a part of this community," Kerber said as hundreds took time out to say thank you for serving the country.
Watching him confidently interact with those gathered -- many perfect strangers -- it's clear the 21-year-old, who was awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery, has a special resilience.
"You wake up one day without an arm (and) you figure how to be one-handed in a two-handed world," Kerber says with a laugh.
It's a quality that his parents say greeted them as they rushed to his bedside at a military hospital in Washington D.C. a few days later.
"He's been like that since we first seen him at Walter Reed," says his father, Patrick Kerber. "The first thing, he sat up on the stretcher when they pulled him off the ambulance, and he was more concerned about his mom than himself."
"The easiest way for me to make the people in my family handle this as best they could ... is to show them I am OK and I'm not going to be held back by this, and I'm still the same person," Private Kerber said.
The patriotic escort brought Kerber through West Chicago, where many more turned out with signs and banners along the streets, to let a hometown boy know they cared.
"There are so many variables to where I shouldn't be here right now that I feel blessed to be here -- one arm or not -- back in my community," he said. "I feel blessed."
Kerber returned home Friday for a 10-day stay, but he's headed back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he's expected to undergo therapy for at least the next year. He's also vowing to continue to pursue his goal of one day working in law enforcement.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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