GySgt McQuigg was fascinated by the military at an early age. He came from a long line of warfighters dating back to the French and Indian war. “Everyone that joins the military is running away from something, and not necessarily in a bad sense. For me, I wasn’t content with college or staying in the same area that I grew up in. I have always been patriotic and believe in self-sacrifice however, once you join the military, you quickly realize that you aren’t doing it for a President or a flag or the people back home. It’s for the Marines that are on the line with you. They’re counting on you and you rely on them,” said GySgt McQuigg.
While conducting combat operations in the city of Haditha Iraq, GySgt McQuigg took a bomb blast to the face. He suffered a shattered jaw, loss of over 60% of his tongue, burns to the face and neck, nerve damage and severe TBI. When asked what it means to have his home furnished, GySgt McQuigg said, “We have always been very modest and frugal when it comes to furnishing our home. Since new furniture can be a large expenditure and we had a young boy growing up in our house, we tended to invest our funds into memories and our son’s education.
Now that we are more established, we would like to be able to personalize our home in order to represent our shared identity as a family with love, unity and creativeness. This gives us a place of calmness when we come home each day and continue building this chapter of our lives. It’s a great outpouring of support.”
GySgt McQuigg has
become a scuba diving instructor and works for the WAVES project (Wounded American Veterans Experiencing Scuba) Their mission is to certify disabled veterans and a “dive buddy” to become scuba divers. They also promote environmental education. He plans to continue to live in San Diego with his wife and son and give back to the community and help other veterans as often as possible.
